House of Commons Commission

Parliamentary Estate: Buildings

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many buildings on the parliamentary estate are constructed with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Sir Charles Walker: The House of Commons Commission has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Treasury

Hospitality Industry and Tourism: Rural Areas

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps they have taken to support hospitality and tourism in rural areas.

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of fiscal support his Department is providing to pubs.

Victoria Atkins: The Government believes that pubs make an important contribution to our culture, fostering a sense of place and community, and to the UK economy. The Government is aware that the high street faces long-term challenges and is committed to supporting the businesses that make our high streets and town centres successful. Therefore, at Autumn Statement 2022, the Government announced a package of support worth £13.6 billion over the next five years, including:a freeze to the business rates multiplier for 2023-24, a tax cut worth £9.3 billion over the next 5 years, meaning all bills are 6% lower than without the freeze;an increased 75% relief for retail, hospitality and leisure properties including pubs, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business for 2023-24. This is a tax cut worth over £2 billion for around 230,000 RHL businesses, to support the high street and protect small shops. Furthermore, to support pubs, our 'Brexit Pubs Guarantee,' confirms that the duty on a draught pint will always be lower than its equivalent in a supermarket. And the new alcohol duty system implemented in August of this year included a new Draught Relief that provides a significant duty discount on beers below 8.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) sold in containers of 20 litres or more in the on-trade. The Community Ownership Fund has awarded £49.3 million to 195 projects across the UK, including rural pubs, with £35 million allocated to 131 projects across England, £6.2 million allocated to 28 projects in Scotland, £4 million to 18 projects in Wales and £4.1 million to 18 projects in Northern Ireland. The Government keeps all taxes under review.

Protective Clothing: VAT

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing VAT on motorcycle air vests to help increase their usage.

Victoria Atkins: Whilst there are currently no plans to remove VAT on motorcycle air vests, the Government remains committed to ensuring the safety of motorcyclists. For example, motorcycle helmets, which satisfy the requirements of regulation 8(2) of the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 2002, are zero-rated for VAT. Further information can be found here: Protective equipment (VAT Notice 701/23) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) VAT has been designed as a broad-based tax on consumption, and the twenty per cent standard rate applies to the vast majority of goods and services, including motorcycle air vests. While there are exceptions to the standard rate, these have always been strictly limited by both legal and fiscal considerations. VAT is the UK’s third largest tax forecast to raise £161 billion in 2023/24, helping to fund key spending priorities such as important public services, including the NHS, education and defence. In addition, this request should be viewed in the context of over £50 billion of requests for relief from VAT received since the EU referendum. The Government keeps all taxes under review.

Hospitality Sector: Small Businesses

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to help support small businesses in the hospitality industry; and whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the VAT threshold for those businesses.

Victoria Atkins: The Government understands the vital role the hospitality industry plays in the UK economy. This is why, for example, the Government announced a package of business rates support at Autumn Statement 2022 which means businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, including pubs, will receive a tax cut worth over £2 billion in 2023-24. Eligible properties will receive 75 per cent off their business rates bill, up to a cap of £110,000 per business. The Government recognises that accounting for VAT can be a burden on small businesses. At £85,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the second highest in the OECD. This keeps the majority of UK businesses out of VAT altogether. Views on the VAT registration threshold are divided and the case for change has been regularly reviewed over the years. While some businesses have argued that a higher threshold would reduce administrative and financial burdens, others contend that a lower threshold would provide a fairer competitive environment. The Government continues to keep all taxes under review.

Bank Services: Closures

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of closures of (a) bank branches and (b) free-to-use ATMs in (i) Coventry North East constituency, (ii) Coventry, (iii) the West Midlands and (iv) England in each of the last three years.

Andrew Griffith: While the government does not make direct assessments of branch networks, it believes that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking and cash services. The government legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to establish a new legislative framework to protect access to cash. This establishes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash and provides it with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities across the UK, including free withdrawal and deposit facilities in relation to personal current accounts. Decisions on opening and closing branches and ATMs are a commercial issue, and the government does not intervene in these. However, under FCA guidance, firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on the everyday banking and cash access needs of their customers and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This seeks to ensure that the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly. Alternative options for access to banking can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business banking customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.

Treasury: Incentives

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2022 to Question 97498 on Treasury: Incentives, what the total value was of non-cash vouchers awarded to staff working for (a) his core Department and (b) HMRC as performance-related bonuses in 2022-23.

Gareth Davies: Bonuses paid out as non-cash vouchers is a standard practice across Government. Attracting, retaining and motivating highly skilled individuals is essential for the Civil Service to deliver for the British people. This is why pay must be fair and competitive as well as affordable to the taxpayer. Performance-related bonuses and vouchers are a key part of this.

Brexit: Inflation

Patrick Grady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his oral contribution of 20 June 2023, Official Report, column 694, what the evidential basis is for not accepting the findings of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics.

Andrew Griffith: Recent food inflation in the UK has been driven by a range of factors. Domestic agricultural commodity prices increased due to increases in international commodity prices and changes in exchange rates and in particular the strength of the dollar. Alongside this there was an increase in food manufacturing costs and particularly energy costs, which also contributed to food inflation. These factors are the main reasons for recent high food inflation, as shown by the fact that other countries in Europe have experienced similar levels of food inflation.

Help to Buy Scheme: Individual Savings Accounts

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the number of Help to Buy ISAs that have been opened in each of the last two years.

Andrew Griffith: The Government is committed to supporting people of all incomes and at all stages of life to save, and to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. The Help to Buy: ISA scheme closed to new accounts on 30th November 2019. The scheme continues to help those struggling to save enough to get onto the housing ladder as existing account holders can continue to save into their Help to Buy: ISA until November 2029. The latest statistics show that since the scheme was launched in 2015, 558,176 property completions have been supported through the scheme. The Lifetime ISA (LISA) was launched in 2017 and remains open for those that are eligible for the scheme. Further information on this scheme can be found at: https://www.ownyourhome.gov.uk/

Treasury: Senior Civil Servants

Drew Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Grade (a) 6, (b) 7 and (c) SCS staff in his Department are contractually based in (i) Scotland (ii) London and (iii) the Southeast of England.

Gareth Davies: HM Treasury currently have the following number of staff at Grade 6, Grade 7 and SCS who are contractually based in: Scotland – this number cannot be disclosed, as it isLondon - 989Norwich (Southeast of England) - 9

Treasury: Women

Drew Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of civil servants in his Department on full-time equivalent contracts at senior civil servant pay band 2 are women.

Gareth Davies: 50.2% of SCS2 FTE are female as of 17 October 2023. The latest published information is available here and info for financial year 2022-2023, will be published in the next set of report and accounts.

Treasury: Women

Drew Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of civil servants on temporary contracts in his Department are women.

Gareth Davies: The department recognises temporary contracts as Fixed Term Appointments. The current proportion of civil servants in Treasury, who are women, on Fixed Term Appointments is 50.9%, as of 17 October 2023. The latest published information is available here and info for financial year 2022-2023, will be published in the next set of report and accounts.

Scotland Office

Lord Advocate

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Scottish Government or (b) representatives instructed to act on behalf of the Scottish Government on the role of the Lord Advocate and potential changes to the Scotland Act.

Mr Alister Jack: I have had no discussions with either the Scottish Government or representatives acting on behalf of the Scottish Government in regards to the role of Lord Advocate and potential changes to the Scotland Act.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Offshore Industry: Marine Protected Areas

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on the potential environmental impacts of new offshore oil and gas licences on marine protected areas.

Trudy Harrison: The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) officials work closely together on achieving the dual aims of Net Zero and protection of the marine environment. The environmental impact of all proposed offshore oil and gas developments are considered by the relevant regulator (Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning and/or North Sea Transition Authority) when considering them for consent.

Animal Breeding: Animal Welfare

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent the breeding of animals that are genetically predisposed to (a) Brachycephaly and (b) other deformative conditions.

Trudy Harrison: The law on the breeding and sale of dogs, and the breeding and sale of rabbits and cats as pets, who can suffer from brachycephaly was updated and improved in 2018. Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations) anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters of dogs in a twelve-month period, as well as anyone in the business of breeding and selling rabbits or cats as pets, needs to hold a valid licence issued by their local authority. Licencees must achieve and maintain statutory minimum animal welfare standards, which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences, and are prohibited from breeding from dogs if it can be reasonably expected that this would lead to health or welfare problems for the mother or her puppies. Defra is currently undertaking a post-implementation review of the 2018 Regulations which will consider whether the regulations have met their objectives, and where there could be scope for further improvements. The review will be published soon.

Imports: Disease Control and Safety

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of resources in the (a) Animal Health and Plant Agency to respond to multiple exotic disease outbreaks and (b) Food Standards Agency to respond to safety risks associated with imported food.

Mark Spencer: a) The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) constantly review resource allocation and the Secretary of State is briefed on the Agency’s preparedness for multiple disease outbreaks. Recognising the impact of persistent incursions of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 into the UK, additional funding has been made available this year to APHA to ensure it has the resources needed to deliver against the increased demands HPAI has placed on it. (b) While the Food Standards Agency is responsible for imported food safety policy, responsibility for the delivery of border controls for imported food rests with Plant Health Agencies, which are the relevant competent authorities. As such they are responsible for ensuring adequate resources are in place to carry out this function at a local level.

Import Controls: Food and Veterinary Services

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the readiness of (a) food border checks and (b) veterinary provisions.

Trudy Harrison: In August 2023, the Government published the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) which sets a new regime of sanitary and phytosanitary controls regime for all imports to GB. Defra continues to engage regularly with other Government departments, including Cabinet Office to prepare for implementation of the BTOM. Under the BTOM inspections for food safety, biosecurity and animal health will take place at Border Control Posts (BCPs) from April. BCP operators must demonstrate that there are sufficient on-site staff, including official veterinarians, to carry out the required import checks on consignments, and BCPs should therefore have sufficient staff to undertake their function. There will be continual dialogue between Defra, the Animal and Plant Health Agency and Port Health Authorities to ensure that the correct levels of staffing are in place to deliver BTOM.

Avian Influenza: Vaccination

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she (a) has had and (b) plans to have with international trading partners on the use of avian influenza vaccinations.

Mark Spencer: The vaccination of poultry and captive birds against avian influenza, excluding those in licensed zoos in England, is not currently permitted. While avian influenza vaccination is unlikely to be a viable option for the 2023/24 high risk season, Defra has established a cross Government and industry task force to explore potential for use of vaccination as a preventive measure for avian influenza. Further information can be found at Bird flu (avian influenza) vaccination task force - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The Secretary of State and her officials, including the UK Chief Veterinary Officer, regularly engage with trading partners and international fora like the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) on a range of animal health issues, including vaccination policies. Any future decisions on avian influenza control measures, including the use of vaccination, will be based upon the latest scientific, ornithological, and veterinary advice. Should UK avian influenza vaccination policy change in future, Defra will work to secure the buy-in of trading partners to ensure UK trade in poultry is not negatively affected.

Dangerous Dogs: Regulation

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of dog legislation enforcement officers in each year since 2010.

Trudy Harrison: Defra does not hold data on the number of dog legislation enforcement officers. This information is held by individual police forces.

Waste Management

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timescale is for publishing the Waste Infrastructure Roadmap; and if she will make an assessment of the level of existing waste infrastructure required to meet the Government's target to halve residual waste by 2042.

Rebecca Pow: The first element of the Waste Infrastructure Roadmap will be published before the end of this year and will set out anticipated waste arisings to 2035, reflecting Defra’s Collection and Packaging Reforms (Simpler Recycling, Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging and a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers), mapping this modelling against known waste management infrastructure for various waste streams, including organic wastes, dry recyclables (paper/card, glass, textiles, metals, and plastics) and residual waste.Once published, the intention of the first element of the Waste Infrastructure Roadmap is to provide a signal to investors as to where there is considered to be a likely over or under-provision of waste management capacity so as to target investment. The first element of the Waste Infrastructure Roadmap will not detail where or how investment should be made but is meant to be a tool to support investors and local authorities in decision making.Those looking to invest in waste management infrastructure are encouraged to engage with the UK Infrastructure Bank.

Clean Air Zones: Birmingham

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has plans to mandate Birmingham City Council to expand its Clean Air Zone for the purposes of generating income following the issuing of a Section 114 notice by that council.

Trudy Harrison: No. Local authorities cannot use Clean Air Zones as a revenue raising measure. Under the Transport Act 2000 the net proceeds of any charging schemes made under the Act are only available to the local authority for the purpose of facilitating the achievement of its local transport policies.

Incontinence: Public Lavatories and Public Spaces

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of provision of sanitary bins for men experiencing incontinence in (a) male public toilets and (b) other public spaces.

Rebecca Pow: The Government encourages local authorities to consider such provision in public toilets to support those with this need but does not have powers to compel the provision of sanitary bins in public toilets. I would encourage the hon. Member to raise the issue locally.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Prime Minister's authored article entitled What the PM’s new approach to Net Zero means for you, published 20 September 2023, whether he had held discussions with Cabinet colleagues on potential proposals for each household to receive seven bins for domestic waste; and whether he planned to introduce legislative proposals to implement such a policy before 20 September 2023.

Rebecca Pow: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential. The Environment Act as it stands would require local authorities to collect six recyclable waste streams (glass, metal, plastic, paper and card, food waste and garden waste) separately from residual (non-recyclable) waste, and separately from each other unless there was a technical, economic or environmental exception to allow waste streams to be collected together. In practice this could sometimes lead to a situation where households would need to sort their waste into multiple different containers. The new Simpler Recycling policy, which will shortly be announced, will ensure that local authorities retain the flexibility to collect the recyclable waste streams in the most appropriate way for their residents.

Proteins: Novel Foods

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps to encourage private investment in the alternative protein sector.

Mark Spencer: Defra directly supports innovative techniques by shaping and contributing to funding programmes open to our industry. Defra has so far invested over £4 million into industry led research and development for innovative solutions for sustainable on farm proteins via the Defra-UKRI Farming Innovation Programme. This will fund research and development to enhance the productivity and environmental impact of proteins that are grown or raised by farmers. Funding is split across early-stage feasibility projects, and industrial research projects.

Proteins: Novel Foods

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps to support research and development in the alternative protein industry in the context of (a) environmental sustainability and (b) food security.

Mark Spencer: Defra directly supports innovative techniques by shaping and contributing to funding programmes open to our industry. Defra has so far invested over £4 million into industry led research and development for innovative solutions for sustainable on farm proteins via the Defra-UKRI Farming Innovation Programme. This will fund research and development to enhance the productivity and environmental impact of proteins that are grown or raised by farmers. Funding is split across early-stage feasibility projects, and industrial research projects.

Dog Fighting

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to tackle illegal dog fighting.

Trudy Harrison: Causing an animal fight to take place, or attempting to do so, is an offence under Section 8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. It is also an offence to be present a at a dog fight without reasonable excuse or lawful authority. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 increases the maximum sentence for such offences from six months to five years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. This strengthened penalty sends a clear message that animal cruelty will not be tolerated and will enable our courts to take a firm approach to cases such as dog fighting.

Proteins: Novel Foods

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of regulatory (a) frameworks and (b) standards at supporting the (i) growth and (ii) competitiveness of the alternative protein sector.

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with the Food Standards Agency on the alternative protein industry.

Mark Spencer: Defra continues to support the Food Standards Agency (FSA) as they develop processes for approval of new alternative protein products while reviewing their novel food regulations. We want to enable a UK food system that supports the Government in meeting its goals for sustainable, healthy and affordable food, and it is of utmost importance that we maintain our world-leading consumer safety standards. We are supporting progress on a wide range of ways to do this, including alternative proteins and gene editing.

Livestock: Exports

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to bring forward legislative proposals for a ban on live exports before the end of the current Parliament.

Mark Spencer: The Government recognises the long-standing public concern with livestock and horses being exported for slaughter and fattening. We are determined to deliver our manifesto commitment to end this trade and will be bringing forward a live exports ban as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Proteins: Novel Foods

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps to support the alternative protein industry.

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with alternative protein companies.

Mark Spencer: Defra is committed to the continued production of healthier, high quality and sustainable food and drink which remain of vital importance for both our economy and domestic food security. The alternative protein industry is a crucial part of achieving these food production aims, and Defra continues to support progress in the sector via funding and collaboration with Government colleagues to improve the regulatory framework. As the sector is diverse and at different stages of readiness and investment, Defra continues to partner with colleagues across Government in their engagement with industry.

Water: Sewage

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will commission a statutory inquiry into alleged dumping of raw sewage by the water industry.

Rebecca Pow: The Government has been consistently clear that the volume of sewage discharged by water companies into our waters is unacceptable, and they must significantly reduce how much sewage they discharge as a priority. Our Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan sets stringent targets for water companies to reduce the use of storm overflows and will drive the largest infrastructure programme in water company history - £60 billion capital investment over 25 years.Furthermore, the Government is working to hold the water industry to account on a scale never seen before. Our regulators, the Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat, have launched the largest criminal and civil investigation into water company sewage discharges ever, at over 2200 treatment works, following new data coming to light as a result of increased monitoring. The EA will continue to investigate and take action against any water companies that are suspected of breaching legal requirements in line with their enforcement and sanctions policy.

Environment Agency: West Midlands

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how long on average it took the Environment Agency to respond to category (a) three and (b) four incidents in the West Midlands in the last 12 months.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency is a Category 1 responded under the Civil Contingency Act and is required to record and triage every reported incident into the Environment Agency within 60 minutes. A triage assessment is undertaken by the Environment Agency’s National Incident Communication Service and passed to the Local Area for appropriate level of response. The Environment Agency, like all public bodies, undertakes careful assessments to prioritise deployment of their limited resources. The Environment Agency is not funded to respond to every environmental incident reported to them and so prioritise their activities on incidents that cause serious and significant risk. Category 3 and 4 incidents are those with minor/minimal or no impact, respectively. All incidents reported to the Environment Agency are assessed and the information provided is used to build a picture of environmental threats, used to enable targeted compliance, regulation and enforcement activities. Factors determining the management of an incident can include the scale or harm, duration or number of times the incident has occurred (not exhaustive).

Agriculture: Borders

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of different domestic farm support regimes in England, Scotland and Wales on farmers who operate (a) on and (b) near the borders between England and (i) Scotland and (ii) Wales.

Mark Spencer: Agriculture is a devolved responsibility. This means that now we have left the EU, each UK nation can shape new domestic agricultural policies to better suit their farmers. To support this, the UK Government and the devolved administrations have jointly developed a non-legislative administrative framework for coordinating agricultural policy: the UK Agricultural Support Framework (ASF). Defra and the other UK nations work closely together through the integrated, consensus-based and well-established governance arrangements we have set up and operate under the ASF. The ASF enables effective co-ordination and dialogue between the administrations including on how any changes to legislation in one part of the UK may affect other parts. Through the Framework, we have established the UK Agriculture Policy Collaboration Group (PCG) and the Market Monitoring Group (MMG). The PCG provides an opportunity for officials from the four administrations to share good practice and proactively discuss and coordinate policy innovation. The PCG allows officials to consider whether new or changing policy will have an unwanted impact on another administration, and to make recommendations to Ministers and senior officials accordingly. The MMG’s role is to share information and to analyse and coordinate evidence on the impact of market developments across the UK. The MMG determines the main factors driving the development of the market and assesses the short- and long-term impacts of these factors. Evidence used by the MMG will consist of analysis of a mixture of quantitative market price and production data, market intelligence, industry representations and political lobbying, amongst other factors. The PCG and the MMG have complementary, interactive roles in policy collaboration and operational intervention as prescribed by the ASF. There are well-established mechanisms to identify and escalate any risks to the Senior Officials Programme Board set up under the ASF and to ministers. The early and open sharing and discussion of policy proposals at the PCG and MMG meetings reduces significantly the need for escalation. The formal engagement under the ASF is supplemented by regularly scheduled catch-up meetings between working level Defra officials and their devolved government counterparts. Policy officials meet both on a regular bilateral and ad hoc basis to discuss emerging issues (e.g. subsidy control legislation) which the PCG and MMG have oversight of. These systems have shown their value during recent challenges such as turbulence in pig-markets in late 2021, the initial response to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and recent drought conditions.

Food: Waste Disposal

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring local authorities to provide bins for food waste disposal for residents.

Rebecca Pow: New section 45 of the Environmental Protection Act (as amended by the Environment Act 2021) will require all local authorities in England to arrange for the collection of food waste for recycling. This must always be collected separately from residual waste and dry recyclable materials so that it can be recycled. This policy will make recycling food waste easier and ensure there is a comprehensive, consistent service across England. This change, alongside the wider impact of the government’s Simpler Recycling reforms, will reduce confusion with recycling to improve recycling rates, ensuring there is more recycled material in the products we buy, and the UK recycling industry grows. Our second consultation on Simpler Recycling In 2021 sought views on the materials in scope of collection, exemptions and statutory guidance. We are working to assess net additional costs of food waste collections to local authorities. Any new financial burdens introduced through new statutory duties on local authorities will be assessed in accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine and the net reasonable cost covered by the government. As announced in our Net Zero Strategy 2021, we are disbursing funding which will allow local authorities in England to deliver free weekly separate food waste collections from all households. Further details will be provided in the response to our second consultation, which we aim to publish shortly.

Incinerators

Elliot Colburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report entitled Incineration Overcapacity in England, published by the United Kingdom Without Incineration Network in November 2022, what steps her Department is taking to tackle overcapacity of incinerators in England.

Rebecca Pow: Government does not support overcapacity of Energy from Waste treatment in England. We will publish an assessment of our further residual waste treatment capacity needs in due course.

Food: Waste

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to introduce legislative proposals to help reduce food waste.

Rebecca Pow: Environment Act 2021 amendments to the Environmental Protection Act 1990 will require all local authorities in England to arrange for the separate collection of food waste for recycling. If citizens can see how much food waste they are producing then they are more likely to take preventive action. Further details will be published in the response to our second consultation on Simpler Recycling in due course.

Non-native Species: Weed Control

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the spread of invasive bamboo.

Trudy Harrison: The “bamboo” family is a collection of more than 1500 species, some of which are considered invasive. The Government is aware that, if left uncontrolled, bamboo can in some cases become challenging to manage. It is advised that a physical barrier is used to prevent the uncontrolled spread of bamboo. Where the growth of bamboo poses an issue, the Government recommends that this is addressed by cooperation between owners and affected parties. Whilst the Government recognises that many bamboo species are vigorous and fast-growing, they are not currently thought to pose a significant threat to wildlife or to socio-economic interests nationally. Defra utilises horizon scanning exercises to identify potentially invasive species. As a result, a risk assessment of Black Bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) was recently undertaken, however this showed the species to be of low risk to the country and therefore no further action was taken. Although the Government are not currently considering changing the legal status of one, or any, of the species of bamboo currently found in Great Britain, we keep matters such as these under review and continue to carry out horizon scanning and risk assessments for potential threats.

Anaerobic Digestion: Subsidies

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on the impact of subsidies to the anaerobic digestion industry on the sale of surplus food to charitable organisations.

Rebecca Pow: Defra and DESNZ officials continue to work closely to coordinate anaerobic digestion (AD) policy, working with ministers where required. The Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) launched in 2021, provides tariff-support for biomethane produced via AD and injected into the gas grid. Under the GGSS, at least 50% of all biomethane (by energy content) must be produced using waste or residue feedstocks. In line with scheme guidance, AD site operators should ensure that the waste hierarchy has been applied and alternative markets have been considered before using any waste feedstocks for AD. DEFRA will continue to work closely with other government departments to deliver the best environmental policy outcomes which align with the food surplus and waste hierarchy.

Fly-tipping

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support local councils in tackling fly-tipping.

Rebecca Pow: The PM’s Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan sets out how we will help councils take tougher action against those who fly-tip. This includes significantly raising the upper limit on the penalties councils can issue to £1,000 for fly-tipping and £600 for householders who give their waste to an unauthorised carrier, which we did in July. We have also increased transparency on the use of these penalties by publishing league tables and consulted stakeholders on ringfencing the money raised from these penalties for enforcement and clean up activity. This builds on the £1.2m Defra has provided in grant funding to help more than 30 councils implement projects cracking down on fly-tipping. A selection of case studies from round one are available online so that others can learn about those interventions which were most successful. These can be found at https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/fly-tipping-intervention-grant-scheme. We have recently launched another grant opportunity that could see a further £1m handed out in grants to help more councils tackle the issue. With the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, we are developing a toolkit to help councils and others tackle fly-tipping. So far, the group has published a guide on how to present robust cases to court and a new framework which sets out how to set up and run effective local partnerships. The toolkit, and other resources, are available online at https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/fly-tipping-intervention-grant-scheme.

Packaging: Recycling

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of the Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) Regulations 2023 on businesses that already operate closed loop recycling collections.

Rebecca Pow: The Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) Regulations 2023 require producers of packaging to collect, retain and report data on the packaging they supply to others or discard themselves. These regulations place no greater reporting burden on producers that already operate closed loop recycling collections than they do on comparable producers that do not operate closed loop recycling collections. The costs of producer data reporting are assessed in an Impact Assessment published in 2022 alongside the Governments response to the 2021 Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) consultation. We are aware of the concerns of producers that operate closed loop recycling systems and have sought further views on this through a consultation on the proposed EPR Regulations which closed on the 9th of October. We are now reviewing the responses to the consultation, and we intend to publish a high-level summary of responses in spring next year.

Salmon: North Atlantic Ocean

Sir Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department held discussions at the recent North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation on protecting salmon stocks as they migrate to feeding grounds in the North Atlantic; and if she will press for international agreement on such protections.

Mark Spencer: As a contracting party to the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO), the UK took part in the organisation’s annual meeting in June. Salmon migrating to the North Atlantic are protected by NASCO’s prohibition of fishing salmon beyond coastal States’ jurisdictions with the exception of the waters off West Greenland, where salmon fishing is capped at 27 tonnes per annum until 2025.

Waste Disposal: Erith and Thamesmead

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the level of illegal waste disposal in Erith and Thamesmead constituency in the last 12 months.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency’s Kent and South London enforcement team respond to reports of illegal disposal of waste and seeks to take proactive and targeted action within the Erith and Thamesmead area. In the last 12 months the Environment Agency have received two reports of illegal disposal of waste in the Erith and Thamesmead area. Both reports concern the illegal disposal of commercial waste by burning. The Environment Agency attended one site and since this visit, have received no further reports of burning from this location. In the case of the second report, the Environment Agency issued a letter giving advice and guidance on waste disposal to the business address of the company suspected of the burning. Since this letter was sent, they have received no further reports of burning. The Environment Agency currently have no active investigations into the illegal disposal of waste in Erith and Thamesmead area. The Environment Agency also conducts proactive days of action to target specific waste offences and waste streams. The last day of action was held on the 18 September 2023 covering the Erith and Thamesmead areas in the London borough of Bexley. The operation was conducted in partnership with officers from Environment Agency, Metropolitan Police, Openreach and the London Borough of Bexley. The purpose was to target uninsured/unlicensed drivers and hauliers believed to be engaged in illegal waste activities. Based on intelligence the focus was on scrap metal dealers known to be operating in the Thamesmead area. The day gathered valuable intelligence and enforcement action was taken against several un-registered waste carriers. Additionally, the latest fly-tipping incident data held by Defra shows that in 2021/22 the London Borough of Bexley reported a total of 5096 fly-tipping incidents and the London Borough of Greenwich reported a total of 8666 fly-tipping incidents. In response to these reports 407 actions were taken by the London Borough of Bexley and 918 actions by the London Borough of Greenwich.

Rivers: Environment Protection

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to protect chalk streams.

Rebecca Pow: Restoring chalk streams is a Government priority. We reaffirmed this commitment in our Plan for Water, which recognises chalk streams as having special natural heritage. We are defining chalk streams as priority sites in our Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan with a target of 75% reduction in harmful spills into these rivers by 2035. And, we have also brought forward changes to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (LURB) to include chalk streams in the definitions of ‘environmental protection’ and ‘natural environment’, meaning that chalk streams must be considered when undertaking environmental assessments in future.At the Chalk Stream Restoration Conference in June, we announced that we would publish a Chalk Stream Recovery Pack to ensure national policy and community action to protect and restore chalk is well integrated. The Recovery Pack will champion the Chalk Stream Restoration Group's One Big Wish by raising the profile of chalk streams, providing certainty on Government action to increase protection and promote collective action on chalk.

Packaging: Waste Disposal

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that its data on levels of packaging waste is accurate.

Rebecca Pow: We have commissioned an update to the research, known as PackFlow, to ascertain the level of packaging and packaging waste generated annually in the UK. It is intended to set a new baseline for packaging placed on the market in 2022 and projections based on this for future years until 2027. This report is due in December.

Air Pollution

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to remove regulations 9 and 10 of the National Emission Ceilings Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/129) from schedule 1 of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023.

Trudy Harrison: I do not intend to remove Regulations 9 and 10 of the National Emissions Ceilings Regulations (NECR), which require preparation of and consultation on a National Air Pollution Control Programme (NAPCP), from schedule 1 of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023. The NAPCP format is long, complicated and duplicative, and does nothing to improve the quality of the air we breathe. Of those who expressed an opinion when we consulted on the NAPCP last year, a majority agreed that the format could be improved, with a consensus that it was too lengthy and technical. With this in mind, we are considering how we can simplify the process to reduce administrative burdens and improve transparency. All other provisions in the NECR remain unchanged, including the emissions reduction targets and reporting requirements which ensure transparency and allow scrutiny of the UK’s progress towards achieving its emissions targets.

Fly-tipping: Rural Areas

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce fly-tipping on private land in rural areas.

Rebecca Pow: We appreciate the difficulty and cost that fly-tipping poses to landowners. We are working with a wide range of interested parties through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, such as the National Farmers Union, Environment Agency, Country Land and Business Association, National Police Chief's Council and local authorities, to promote and disseminate good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land. As part of the Government’s commitment to unleash rural opportunity, we will fund a post within the new National Rural Crime Unit to explore how the police’s role in tacking fly-tipping can be optimised, with a focus on rural areas. Across two rounds of our fly-tipping grant scheme, we have awarded nearly £1.2m to help more than 30 councils purchase equipment, such as CCTV, to tackle fly-tipping at known hot-spots, including in rural areas. We have recently launched another grant opportunity that could see a further £1m handed out in grants next year to help more councils tackle the issue.

Food: Waste

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce mandatory food waste reporting for large businesses.

Rebecca Pow: Food and drink businesses should report their food waste through the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap. There are no plans at this time to extend this voluntary scheme to a mandatory one.

Rivers: Pollution Control

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) manage and (b) reduce waste pollution in rivers.

Rebecca Pow: The Plan for Water’s comprehensive approach to transforming our water environment includes detailed policies to manage and reduce waste pollution in waterbodies, including rivers. The Plan tackles widespread sources of pollution, including storm overflows, treated wastewater, agricultural pollution, road run-off, and a ban on plastic-containing wet wipes (subject to consultation). As part of the Plan for Water, over £2.2 billion of new, accelerated investment will be directed into vital infrastructure to improve water quality, with £1.7bn of this being used to tackle storm overflows. To improve transparency, we have increased the number of storm overflows monitored across the network from 7% in 2010 to 91% now monitored, and we will reach 100% coverage by end of this year. Beyond this, the Government is ensuring water companies invest significantly in improving wastewater treatment. For example, the nutrient pollution provisions in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill will place a new statutory duty on water and sewerage companies in England to upgrade wastewater treatment works to the highest technically achievable limits in designated areas by 2030. This will drive considerable improvement at wastewater treatment works discharging to areas of the country particularly impacted by nitrogen and phosphorus pollution.

Department for Transport

Electric Vehicles: Insurance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the cost of insuring electric cars.

Jesse Norman: The transition to zero emission vehicles is crucial to the decarbonisation of the transport sector. Electric vehicles offer most drivers savings in terms of lower running and maintenance costs. The Government is working closely with the insurance sector to ensure that the transition to zero emission vehicles is sustainable and cost effective. The insurance sector will continue to evolve in line with the growing EV market and as data becomes more available, to inform

Road Signs and Markings: Languages

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the use of bilingual street signs in England.

Mr Richard Holden: The design and location of street name signs are matters for local authorities. The Department has published guidance for local authorities in Circular Roads 3/93 ‘Street Name Plates and the Numbering of Premises’.

Network Rail: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Network Rail spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Huw Merriman: This information is not centrally held and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

London and Continental Railways: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the London and Continental Railways Limited spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Huw Merriman: Nothing.

Bicycles: Safety Measures

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential safety merits of requiring bells to be attached to new bicycles for (i) pedestrians and (ii) people with hearing impairments; and whether his Department holds data on the potential impact of the removal of that requirement in 2011 on the number of accidents occurring between bicycles and pedestrians.

Jesse Norman: The Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2010 require bicycles to be fitted with a bell at point of sale. Rule 66 of The Highway Code recommends that bells are fitted to cycles, and that people who cycle should always be considerate of other road users, including by calling out or ringing their bell if they have one. The Government does not intend to legislate to make the use of bells on cycles mandatory as there are other ways for people who cycle to warn other road users of their presence.

British Transport Police Authority: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the British Transport Police Authority spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Huw Merriman: £120k, which is the cost of the internal training team, plus external training undertaken during the year.

Electric Vehicles: Bicycles

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of speed limits for e-bikes in areas also used by pedestrians.

Jesse Norman: The Department has made no such assessment. Cyclists, like other road users, must obey the rules of the road as set out in the Highway Code. In the case of e-cycles, the electrical assistance must cut out when the vehicle reaches 15.5mph. There are no plans to introduce speed limits for e-cycles, either on roads or on shared-use cycle and pedestrian tracks.

Large Goods Vehicles

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of not proceeding with the northern leg of HS2 on the number of lorries on UK roads.

Huw Merriman: No decisions have been made on the train service that will run when HS2 opens. These will be made in due course and be subject to consultation, taking advice from the industry. These considerations will include passenger and freight services available on the West Coast Mainline from released capacity.

Electric Scooters: Road Traffic Offences

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to tackle illegal e-scooter usage on public roads.

Jesse Norman: The enforcement of road traffic law is ultimately an operational matter for local police forces. The Department has issued guidance to all local authorities and operators taking part in the trials, and local authorities in trial areas continue to engage with local police forces.

DfT OLR Holdings: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the DfT OLR Holdings Limited spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Huw Merriman: Nothing.

Railways: Fleetwood

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to reopen the railway line into Fleetwood as part of Network North.

Huw Merriman: The Fleetwood rail line reopening project is part of the Restoring Your Railway Programme rather than Network North.

Railways: Carbon Emissions

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on meeting the government's target of delivering a net zero railway by 2050.

Huw Merriman: The Government is committed to meeting our target of a net zero railway by 2050. Since 2010, more than 1,200 miles of electrification has been delivered in Great Britain, including almost 800 miles in England and Wales in the last seven years. Government is also investing in further electrification schemes including electrification of TransPennine Route between Manchester, Leeds and York and completion of the electrification of the Midland Main Line to Sheffield and Derby. Since the start of 2019, the Government has also contributed over £12.5 million to 33 First of a Kind (FoaK) projects that will help decarbonise the railway or reduce harmful emissions. Network Rail has set the standard as the first railway organisation in the world to set science-based targets to the most ambitious target of limiting emissions from its own operations to a 1.5°C warming scenario. We are working with the Great British Railways Transition Team to bring forward options to decarbonise the whole network, in line with our net zero targets, for Government to carefully consider in terms of overall deliverability and affordability.

Trains: Carbon Emissions

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the roll-out of (a) hydrogen and (b) battery power technologies on emissions from trains.

Huw Merriman: Battery and hydrogen trains can play an important role in decarbonising the rail network. As set out in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, published in July 2021, both hydrogen and battery trains will be considered alongside electrification and we will look to deploy the most suitable technology for each rail line considering capability and value for money. The government is supporting the development of alternative traction technologies through innovation funding and research, including working with the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) to better understand safety and other operational and technical considerations to enable smooth entry of battery and hydrogen trains to the network.

Trains: Diesel

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on removing all diesel-only trains from the rail network by 2040.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many diesel-only trains are operating across the railway network as of October 2023; and how many diesel-only trains have been removed since 2020.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Government’s revised policies on net zero on when diesel-only trains will be removed from the rail network.

Huw Merriman: As set out in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, published in July 2021, the government’s ambition is to remove all diesel-only trains from the network by 2040, and the department remains committed to this ambition. A number of train operators, such as Northern and Chiltern, are currently undertaking procurement processes to replace diesel-only trains with an aim to reduce carbon emissions and improve the passenger experience. As of October 2023, there are approximately 2,900 diesel-only vehicles operating on the network out of a fleet of over 15,000 vehicles. Since October 2020, over 200 diesel-only vehicles have been removed from passenger operation.

Railways: Environment Protection

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to pages 89-90 of the Williams-Shapps plan for rail, if he will provide an update on the steps taken by his Department to strengthen the contribution of the railways to the nation’s green recovery.

Huw Merriman: As part of the Plan for Rail, we will invest to radically reform and improve passengers’ experience of fares, ticketing and retailing on the railways. We have delivered on these commitments, extending single-leg pricing on the LNER network from June, and committing to extending contactless pay as you go ticketing to 53 stations in the Southeast and working to agree pay as you go pilots in the North by the end of the year. Since 2021, we have sold over 850,000 new flexible season tickets to support commuters’ return to rail following the pandemic and will continue to protect passengers from cost of living pressures by not increasing next year’s rail fares by as much as the July RPI figure.

Railway Stations: Access

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of the Access for All funding has been allocated; and if he will make it his policy to provide funding to improve accessibility at Erith station.

Huw Merriman: We are assessing over 300 nominations for Access for All funding for the period 2024-29, including a nomination for Erith station. If successful, the funding will create an obstacle free, accessible route from the station entrance to platforms. We hope to be in a position to announce successful nominations later this year.

Railway Stations: Greater London

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of train stations to disabled people in (a) London and (b) Erith and Thamesmead constituency.

Huw Merriman: We are committed to ensuring disabled passengers, including visually impaired people, can use public transport confidently. The Department for Transport recently completed an accessibility audit of all 2,577 stations including in London and the Erith and Thamesmead constituency.

Railways: Access

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the accessibility of railways for passengers.

Huw Merriman: We are committed to ensuring all passengers can use public transport confidently. Since 2006, the Access for All programme has provided step free accessible routes at over 200 stations, with smaller-scale enhancements, such as accessible toilets, at more than 1500 stations. We are currently assessing nominations for the next round of Access for All funding and hope to be in a position to announce successful nominations later this year. We have also provided £75m to Network Rail to install tactile paving on all remaining railway station platforms by 2025 to improve the accessibility of public transport for people with sight loss.

Railway Stations: Toton

Darren Henry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 77 of the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands, published by his Department in November 2021, what progress his Department has made on implementing a new station for local and regional services at Toton.

Huw Merriman: We have been working closely with local and regional stakeholders including Midlands Connect and the East Midlands Development Company to support the regeneration plans for the area. We will continue to do so in assessing the implications of Network North.

Transport: Japan

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with his Japanese counterpart on increasing cooperation between the UK and Japanese (a) railway, (b) automotive and (c) other transport sectors.

Huw Merriman: The Honourable Member will note that the Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt. Hon. Mark Harper has had a number of discussions this year on increasing co-operation with our international partners on a range of transport related matters. In June this year, he travelled to Japan to attend the G7 Transport Ministers Meeting alongside the transport ministers or representative of the Minister for each of the G7 countries. Whilst there, he took the opportunity to meet with the Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to discuss the challenges that both transport sector in both Japan and the UK. He also met representatives of Japanese companies investing in the UK to discuss the challenges that face the UK transport sector as we plan to improve transport for users, meet our environmental targets and support the PM’s priorities including to grow the economy. Those meetings with a range of transport companies across the rail, automotive, and maritime sectors also discussed closer trading links and cooperation. Officials at the Department for Transport continue to work closely with Japanese officials in order to share knowledge on key transport issues and increase co-operation between the two countries.

Directly Operated Railways: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Directly Operated Railways Limited spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Huw Merriman: Nothing.

Railways

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage people to (a) commute and (b) make other journeys by train.

Huw Merriman: The Department has taken a number of steps to encourage people to make journeys by train. We extended single-leg pricing on the LNER network in June, and will extend contactless pay as you go ticketing to 53 stations in the south east by the end of 2023.. In March 2023, we delivered the biggest Government intervention on rail fares in 25 years, by capping fares at 5.9 per cent, 6.4 percentage points below July 2022 RPI. In 2021, we introduced flexible season tickets and have sold over 850,000 since, supporting commuters’ return to rail following the pandemic.We have announced that we will continue to protect passengers from cost of living pressures by not increasing next year’s rail fares by as much as the July RPI figure. We are working with train operators as they continue to prepare for future timetable changes, to ensure their service offer provides capacity where it is most needed, whilst maintaining performance and protecting the public purse.

Railways: Timetables

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking to steps to help reduce the potential impacts of timetable changes by rail operators on passenger rail travel.

Huw Merriman: As the pandemic has changed travel habits, train operators are using this opportunity to reassess their services to provide rail timetables that respond to new passenger travel patterns, are fit for the future, and carefully balance cost, capacity and performance. We are working with train operators as they continue to prepare for future timetable changes, to ensure their service offer provides capacity where it is most needed, whilst maintaining performance and protecting the public purse.

Railways: Fares

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to roll out London North Eastern Railway's model of expanding single leg pricing to other networks.

Huw Merriman: We have committed to carefully considering the results of the London North Eastern Railway single leg pricing rollout before extending more widely.

Railways: Fares

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what formula his Department plans to use to determine the increase in rail fares for 2024.

Huw Merriman: The Government is considering a variety of options for changes to rail fares in 2024 and we will announce our decision in due course. However, we have announced that we will continue to protect passengers from cost of living pressures and will not increase next year’s rail fares by as much as the July RPI figure.

High Speed 2 Line: Compulsory Purchase

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take capital gains tax into account when calculating the resale value of land bought by his Department under a compulsory purchase order for the Birmingham-Crewe leg of HS2.

Huw Merriman: Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is only paid by individuals and trusts, not by government departments.

High Speed 2 Line

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he was first informed of the Prime Minister's decision not to go ahead with the Birmingham to Crewe section of HS2; and when compulsory purchase of land for this section of HS2 ceased.

Huw Merriman: The issuing of compulsory purchase notices on Phase 2a of HS2 (West Midlands to Crewe) was halted following the announcement. Applications that are in progress will be handled on a case-by-case basis after consulting with the claimants.

High Speed 2 Line: Birmingham

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it remains his Department's policy to construct the Birmingham Interchange Station as part of phase one of High Speed Rail 2.

Huw Merriman: Construction of the HS2 Interchange Station, in Solihull, remains an important and component part of the revised HS2 scheme, and is scheduled to be delivered for the opening of HS2 services between 2029 and 2033.

High Speed Two: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the High Speed Two (HS2) Limited spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Huw Merriman: Nothing.

Railways: Passengers

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of passenger demand for train services across (a) England, (b) Wales, and (c) Scotland.

Huw Merriman: Annual statistics on passenger rail usage at national and region level are published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). These include journeys within and between England, Scotland, and Wales. The latest statistical release provides estimates for April 2021 to March 2022: Regional rail usage (orr.gov.uk)

Railways: WiFi

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with the Rail Delivery Group on the provision of public wifi across the rail network.

Huw Merriman: The department has regular discussions with the Rail Delivery Group on a range of issues including the passenger experience.

Railways: Aerials

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trackside masts to improve signals to trains have been installed across the UK in the latest period for which data is available.

Huw Merriman: The Department does not hold this information.

Railways: WiFi

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department’s policy is on the minimum level of provision of standard speed Wi-Fi that will be required in future railway franchise bids; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Merriman: The department has had discussions with operators on the provision of wi-fi as part of the Annual Business Plan for the next financial year.

Railways: WiFi

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of passenger Wi-Fi provision by each train operator.

Huw Merriman: DfT-franchised train operators are currently required, through their franchise agreements, to provide free passenger Wi-Fi on trains. In some cases, the train operators have also partnered with one or more mobile operators to improve the trackside coverage helping deliver a more consistent Wi-Fi service.

Railways: Dorridge

Saqib Bhatti: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with Network Rail on the steps that it is taking to reduce (a) noise and (b) air pollution emitted from diesel trains (i) stopping and (ii) idling at the Dorridge Freight loop.

Huw Merriman: The Department engages closely with Network Rail on a range of freight related issues. With respect to the Dorridge Freight loop, Network Rail has taken steps to mitigate concerns around noise and air pollution. It has conducted a review of planned freight services following engagement with local residents and Sohihull Council and, where possible, has amended the timetable to avoid the Dorridge Freight loop. For shorter trains, Network Rail has also taken steps to stop trains elsewhere, away from the loop exit, to limit impacts on communities. Network Rail has also limited night time use by only using the Dorridge loop if there is no alternative possible.

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he last met the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen to discuss industrial action on the railways.

Huw Merriman: The Government has no formal role in the negotiations but has facilitated meetings between trade unions and their employers in seeking to bring the disputes to an end. It has always been the role of employers to negotiate with unions, as the pay offers are put forward by the train operators. The Rail Delivery Group presented a fair and reasonable offer to ASLEF which it rejected without allowing its members to vote on their future. We continue to urge ASLEF to put the offer to their members in the train companies to give them a say on their future.

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen on finding a resolution to industrial action on the railways.

Huw Merriman: The Government has no formal role in the negotiations but has facilitated meetings between trade unions and their employers in seeking to bring the disputes to an end. It has always been the role of employers to negotiate with unions, as the pay offers are put forward by the train operators. The Rail Delivery Group presented a fair and reasonable offer to ASLEF which it rejected without allowing its members to vote on their future. We continue to urge ASLEF to put the offer to their members in the train companies to give them a say on their future.

Railways

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to incentivise train operating companies to encourage more people to use railways.

Huw Merriman: The Secretary of State remains committed to working with industry to increase the number of people using the railway. Under the current National Rail Contracts, operators are awarded a Performance Based Fee based on the standard of customer experience and operational performance that they deliver. This incentivises operators to improve the aspects of the railway that are most important for attracting more passengers. We are currently working with industry to develop a stronger revenue incentive to build into National Rail Contracts at the earliest opportunity. This is intended to increase the commerciality of the railway and, in turn, grow passenger numbers.

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he last met with representatives from Network Rail to discuss industrial action on the railways.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with representatives from Network Rail on resolving industrial action on the railways.

Huw Merriman: The Secretary of State holds regular meetings with stakeholders, including the CEO and Chair of Network Rail, on a range of matters which may include industrial action. However, there is no current industrial dispute at Network Rail after RMT members voted to accept the revised offer from Network Rail on 20th March with a 76% approval rate. This is a step towards the modern, reliable, and resilient railway we want to deliver. To achieve the necessary savings and improve efficiency, Network Rail will introduce multiple workforce reforms, including new individual rostering to suit the 24/7 railway, introducing joint and cooperative working and agreeing a set of mandatory overlapping skills for maintenance staff.

Avanti West Coast: WiFi

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the National Rail Contract with Avanti West Coast that is set to commence on 15 October 2023 includes Wi-Fi provision on all train services under that contract.

Huw Merriman: The National Rail Contract for Avanti West Coast which began on 15 October 2023 does not contain any specific contractual requirement on the continuation of the provision of Wi-Fi. At this time, there are no plans to change the current provision of free on-board Wi-Fi on Avanti West Coast services.

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he last met the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers to discuss industrial action on the railways.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers on finding a resolution to industrial action on the railways.

Huw Merriman: The Government has no formal role in the negotiations but has facilitated meetings between trade unions and their employers in seeking to bring the disputes to an end. It has always been the role of employers to negotiate with unions, as the pay offers are put forward by the train operators. The Rail Delivery Group presented a fair and reasonable offer to the RMT which it rejected without allowing its members to vote on their future. We continue to urge the RMT to put the offer to their members in the train companies to give them a say on their future.

Railway Stations: Disability

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether officials in his Department have had discussions with the Rail Delivery Group on the potential merits of expanding the provision for set down and pick up areas for wheelchair and blue badge holders at railway stations across the network.

Huw Merriman: Train operating companies are responsible for managing station car parks and we expect them to take into consideration the needs of their passengers and the views of local partners. Operators are also expected to set out how assistance will be provided around the station, including when connecting from the train to the car park, as part of their Accessible Travel Policy.

Railways: Sanitation

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with the Rail Delivery Group on the provision of baby changing facilities across the rail network.

Huw Merriman: The Department is in regular dialogue with the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) on measures that can be taken to make rail travel more accessible for those with young children. Earlier this year, we worked with the RDG to encourage operators to publish family-friendly travel information on their websites, to increase awareness of provisions already in place. In July 2023 the Rail Safety and Standards Board published an updated version of the Key Train Requirements document which includes further measures for operators to consider, which would help make rail travel more family-friendly,

Department for Transport: Women

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what percentage of civil servants on temporary contracts in the Department for Transport are women.

Jesse Norman: 51% of workers on temporary contracts engaged by the core Department for Transport are female.

Department for Transport: Women

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of FTE civil servants in her Department at pay band SCS2 are women.

Jesse Norman: There are 15.1 full time equivalent female civil servants at SCS pay band 2 in DfT, which is 37.2% of all FTE at SCS pay band 2.

Transport Focus: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Transport Focus spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Jesse Norman: The total spend by Transport Focus on equality and diversity training in 2022-23 was £1800.

Transport: North of England

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which projects in the Network North scheme are funded (a) partly and (b) wholly by his Department.

Huw Merriman: The majority of the projects included in Network North are fully funded by the Department, such as the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements. For others such as most schemes in the current round of the Major Road Network programme, we are expanding the existing DfT funding from 85% to 100%, subject to successful business case approval.

Transport: North of England

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish a map of the area defined as the north in the command paper, Network North, Transforming British Transport, CP 946, published by his Department in October 2023.

Huw Merriman: The Government’s commitment to the north is set out in pages 28-30 of the network north document and in total will deliver nearly £20bn of investment in a range of transport projects, subject to the approval of business cases. This includes unprecedented levels of funding for combined authorities and councils, with allocations to be set out in due course.

Transport: South Yorkshire

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide a breakdown of new funding for transport in South Yorkshire as a result of the cancellation of phase 2a of HS2.

Huw Merriman: Under the Network North plan we have announced an uplift in the funding provided for City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS), so that the total CRSTS 2 allocation for South Yorkshire will now be £1.45bn. We have also announced the extension of the £2 bus fare cap from 1 November 2023 until the end of 2024 and billions to fix potholes in our roads, as well as road and rail upgrades and improvements which will improve transport for people across the region.

High Speed 2 Line: Greater London

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department considered proposals for private financing for Euston HS2 station between between 13 February 2020 and 15 July 2022.

Huw Merriman: DfT and HS2 Ltd have consulted and commissioned studies on private finance. We continually review the best ways to deliver and fund our major infrastructure projects including harnessing the private sector to finance and deliver projects where appropriate.

Railways: North of England

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Network Rail were consulted on the decision to create the Network North plan.

Huw Merriman: Following the announcement, we are working closely with Network Rail, and our other delivery partners, to refine our plans.

Transport: North of England

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Command Paper 946 entitled Network North: Transforming British Transport and published in October 2023, what recent discussions he has had with devolved combined authorities on that scheme.

Huw Merriman: DfT ministers have spoken to a range of local MPs and local leaders while officials have regular discussions with officers. We will continue our engagement with regional and local partners as delivery plans are refined.

High Speed 2 Line: Compensation

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of how much compensation will be paid to (a) contractors, (b) rolling stock suppliers and (c) other business following the decision not to proceed with Phase 2B of the HS2 project.

Huw Merriman: The Department is working with HS2 Ltd and its supply chain to assess these implications as a result of the cancellation of Phase 2b.

High Speed 2 Line

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of closing phases 2a and 2b of HS2 in financial years (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25, (c) 2025-26 and (d) 2026-27.

Huw Merriman: The Department is working with HS2 Ltd and its supply chain to assess the cost implications as a result of the cancellation of HS2 Phases 2a and 2b.

Railways: Compensation

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the transparency data entitled Train operating companies: Passenger’s Charter compensation, published on 25 August 2022, if he will publish data on (a) traditional and (b) delay repay passenger compensation paid by train operating companies in the 2022-23 financial year.

Huw Merriman: Figures on rail passenger compensation paid by train operating companies for 2022/23 are due to be published imminently.

Transport: North of England

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for which Network North projects his Department has undertaken (a) an environmental impact assessment and (b) a local consultation.

Huw Merriman: As usual, Environmental Impact Assessments and consultations will be conducted, as appropriate, as plans for projects are developed and finalised. We are working with our local delivery partners as we progress these projects.

Transport: North of England

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the total cost of Network North projects in 2023 prices.

Huw Merriman: The Network North paper sets out the costs for many of the projects, with numbers based on indicative profiling assumptions. Individual projects will be subject to the standard process and approval of business cases.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 40p of Network North: transforming British transport, CP 946, published by his Department in October 2023, how much he plans to spend on fixing potholes in (a) 2024/25 and (b) 2025/26.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department intends to publish funding allocations for individual local highway authorities shortly, which will make clear how much of the £8.3 billion uplift will be available in future years for maintenance of the highway network.

Speed Limits

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to The Plan for Drivers, published 2 October 2023, what 20mph zones his Department expects to be affected by changes in guidance.

Mr Richard Holden: Local speed limits are a matter for local authorities, who have the power to set their speed limits. While the government supports 20mph limits in the right places, we do not support them being set indiscriminately on all roads without due regard to the safety case and local support. We plan to review the current guidance to English authorities to ensure consistency on setting 20mph speed limits and to be clear about the factors that local authorities should consider when considering new 20mph schemes.

Cycleways: Portsmouth South

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the National Cycle Network for promoting active travel in Portsmouth South constituency.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking with Sustrans to improve safety on route 22 of the National Cycle Network in Portsmouth.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport provided funding in 2018 to assess the quality, safety, and accessibility of the National Cycle Network (NCN). The resulting report, Paths for Everyone, has been used to prioritise investment for upgrading the network. Over £75 million has been provided by the Department to upgrade the NCN since 2018. A network development plan is being produced, with support from Active Travel England and the Department for Transport, which seeks to make the network better and more accessible by 2040. Relevant parties are working with authorities to identify local priorities for future investment, including in Portsmouth.

Motor Vehicles: Carbon Emissions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his department plans to publish a response to L-category vehicles consultation.

Jesse Norman: The Department is now analysing the responses and will bring forward the Government’s response in due course.

Motorcycles: Protective Clothing

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of motorcycle air vests in reducing injuries to motorcyclists; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Richard Holden: Research on ‘Inflatable Protective Clothing for Motorcyclists’ was commissioned in December 2016. As the draft findings were inconclusive, the Department decided not to put any further resource into this research and the draft report was not finalised for publication. The Department does advise riders to wear protective clothing. Rule 84 in The Highway Code states: “Strong boots, gloves and suitable clothing may help to protect you if you are involved in a collision”.

Shipping: Europe

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the designated maritime routes are between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what designated maritime routes into and out of the United Kingdom have been established on what dates since the UK left the European Union.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what designated maritime routes into and out of the United Kingdom are in development.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, to which (a) country and (b) port each (i) freight and (ii) passenger ferry route runs from the UK to the (A) EU and (B) European Economic Area; and which commercial operating company serves each route.

Mr Richard Holden: Between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe, ships' routeing measures adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for navigation and safety purposes, such as traffic separation schemes, operators and vessels are able to traverse any area of sea, or set up longer term regular routes where suitable market demand exists. Ferry routes are developed on a commercial basis by private sector operators in order to provide services that meet wider passenger or freight demands. Government would not ordinarily expect to be involved in such decisions, or privy to operator business planning, and as such cannot provide formal details on ferry routes under development.  In the period following 31 December 2020 we are aware of 5 ferry services that have been established, as set out in table 1: Table 1RouteOperatorDateTilbury - CalaisDfDSJune 2023Medway (Sheerness) - CalaisDfDSJune 2021Dover - CalaisIrish FerriesJune 2021Teesport - ZeebruggeCLdNMarch 2023Teesport - RotterdamCLdNMarch 2023 Table 2 details Ro-Ro (Roll on-Roll off, freight) and Passenger Ferries (Roll on-Roll off freight and passenger) vessels with regular routes (120 times per year), i.e. those that could be considered freight or passenger ferries, between UK and EU/EEA countries: Table 2EU/EEA Route (UK port to EU/EEA port)Destination CountryVessel TypeShip operatorNorth Killingholme-ZeebruggeBelgiumRo-RoCLdN Ro-Ro SAPurfleet-ZeebruggeBelgiumRo-RoCLdN Ro-Ro SATeesport-ZeebruggeBelgiumRo-RoP&O FerriesTilbury-ZeebruggeBelgiumRo-RoP&O FerriesImmingham-EsbjergDenmarkRo-RoDFDSDover-CalaisFrancePass. FerriesDFDSDover-CalaisFrancePass. FerriesIrish FerriesDover-CalaisFrancePass. FerriesP&O FerriesDover-DunkirkFrancePass. FerriesDFDSDover-DunkirkFrancePass. FerriesIrish FerriesNewhaven-DieppeFrancePass. FerriesDFDSPlymouth-RoscoffFrancePass. FerriesBrittany FerriesPoole Harbor-CherbourgFrancePass. FerriesDFDSPoole Harbor-CherbourgFrancePass. FerriesCondor FerriesPortsmouth-Le HavreFrancePass. FerriesBrittany FerriesPortsmouth-OuistrehamFrancePass. FerriesBrittany FerriesPortsmouth-OuistrehamFrancePass. FerriesDFDS SeawaysSheerness-CalaisFranceRo-RoCLdN Ro-Ro SASheerness-CalaisFranceRo-RoDFDSSt Helier Harbor-Saint-MaloFrancePass. Ferries and Ro-RoCondor FerriesImmingham-CuxhavenGermanyPass. Ferries and Ro-RoDFDSFishguard-RosslareIrelandPass. FerriesStena LineHeysham-DublinIrelandRo-RoDFDSHolyhead-DublinIrelandPass. FerriesIrish FerriesHolyhead-DublinIrelandPass. FerriesStena LineLiverpool-DublinIrelandPass. FerriesP&O FerriesLiverpool-DublinIrelandRo-RoCLdN Ro-Ro SALiverpool-DublinIrelandRo-RoDFDSLiverpool-DublinIrelandRo-RoSeatruck FerriesPembroke Dock-RosslareIrelandPass. FerriesIrish FerriesFelixstowe-RotterdamNetherlandsRo-RoDFDSHarwich-RotterdamNetherlandsPass. Ferries and Ro-RoStena LineHull-RotterdamNetherlandsPass. FerriesP&O FerriesImmingham-RotterdamNetherlandsRo-RoDFDSImmingham-RotterdamNetherlandsRo-RoStena LineLondon-VlissingenNetherlandsRo-RoCLdN Ro-Ro SANorth Killingholme-RotterdamNetherlandsPass. FerriesStena LineNorth Killingholme-RotterdamNetherlandsRo-RoCLdN Ro-Ro SANorth Shields-IjmuidenNetherlandsPass. FerriesDFDSPurfleet-RotterdamNetherlandsRo-RoCLdN Ro-Ro SAImmingham-GothenburgSwedenRo-RoDFDS Data Source: Sea by Maritech

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Football: Alcoholic Drinks

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 89 of the policy paper entitled A sustainable future - reforming club football governance, what recent discussions her Department has had with stakeholders on the potential merits of conducting (a) trials for alcohol sales in sight of the pitch for clubs in the National League and League Two and (b) a review of the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985.

Stuart Andrew: We recognise the need to balance the potential commercial benefits of alcohol sales in the lower leagues with concerns around safety and disorder. We will keep this matter under review in conjunction with the Home Office.

Gambling Commission

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Gambling Commission on whether it plans to release the results of its 2021 call for evidence on affordability checks.

Stuart Andrew: Following the Government’s publication of the white paper on gambling earlier this year, the Gambling Commission has been consulting on a series of proposed changes to requirements on gambling businesses, including on financial vulnerability checks and financial risk assessments. We understand that the Gambling Commission will publish information about both the call for evidence and the current consultation as part of their formal consultation response.

Gambling: Mental Illness

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to NICE's draft for consultation entitled Harmful gambling: identification, assessment and management, published in October 2023, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on that consultation's draft guidance on GPs asking patients presenting with a mental health issue about their potential gambling habits.

Stuart Andrew: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is the government lead for treatment of gambling-related harms and commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop a new clinical guideline on gambling which is currently out for consultation and will close on 15 November. Following the gambling white paper published in April, DCMS has launched a public consultation on the statutory levy charged to gambling operators which proposes clear, ringfenced investment for the NHS to lead the commissioning of treatment services for gambling-related harm.The Secretary of State has not recently had any such discussions, but DCMS officials will continue to work closely with DHSC to ensure that the latest evidence on the health harms associated with gambling and effective treatment resulting from that consultation is closely considered.

Charities: Lotteries

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of removing the cap on charity lottery sales.

Stuart Andrew: The Government recognises the importance of society lotteries as a fundraising tool for charities and other organisations. Society lotteries are a vital source of funds for these organisations, raising over £400 million a year.In 2020, we legislated to raise the annual sales limit for large society lotteries from £10 million to £50 million. Each organisation with a society lottery licence is therefore able to sell up to £50 million of tickets per year. Most society lottery operators have sales well within this annual limit, meaning there is plenty of scope for them to continue to grow.The limits were reviewed 12 months after the reforms implemented in 2020, which concluded it was too soon to reach any firm view on its impact, and that more data on the growth of the sector is needed before considering any further changes.

Loneliness

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the levels of loneliness and social isolation in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England; and what (i) financial and (ii) other steps her Department is taking to tackle loneliness and social isolation in those areas.

Stuart Andrew: DCMS collects data on levels of loneliness in England through its annual Community Life Survey (CLS), which suggests that prevalence of loneliness in 2021-22 remained similar to pre-COVID levels, with 6% of adults reporting that they are always or often lonely. Levels of loneliness in the West Midlands in 2021-22 were similar to levels in England (7% always or often lonely). Data is not available to estimate loneliness levels at a constituency level.The government launched the Know Your Neighbourhood (KYN) Fund in March 2023, an up to £30 million package of funding designed to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness in 27 disadvantaged areas across England. The KYN Fund will run until March 2025, with funding allocations taking place up until March 2024. A key focus of the programme is to generate and share learning on how people in disadvantaged areas can be supported to volunteer and improve their social connections, which will help to support sustained action beyond the lifetime of the Fund. Four areas in the West Midlands fall in scope of the KYN Fund: Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Stoke-on-Trent and Cannock Chase.Furthermore, the government continues to take action to tackle loneliness across England through public communications to reduce the stigma about loneliness, building the evidence base on loneliness and supporting other government departments and external organisations to consider loneliness in their work.Copies of the fourth annual report on the government's world-first tackling loneliness strategy are available in the Libraries of the House of Commons and Lords and online.

Television: Local Broadcasting

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure local TV services can continue to secure (a) carriage and (b) discoverability on TV sets during the transition to internet protocol television delivery.

Sir John Whittingdale: The government remains committed to securing the most effective framework for local TV operators going forward. This includes continuing to engage with the sector over the next decade to ensure local TV has the tools to deliver its statutory objectives in a changing broadcasting ecology.To support this, the government will continue providing the regulatory benefits that local TV services have received since 2013. These benefits include, but are not limited to, continued access to digital terrestrial television (DTT) and prominence on DTT and other linear TV platforms, including internet protocol television.

Television: Local Broadcasting

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce administrative (a) time and (b) cost for local TV operators renewing local TV licences.

Sir John Whittingdale: On 7 June 2023, the government launched a public consultation on the renewal of local TV licences. Through the consultation, the government put forward various options for renewal of the multiplex licence, and for the renewal or relicensing of the 34 individual local TV services. The consultation document considered, among other things, which options would minimise the administrative burden on local TV operators.The consultation was open for 12 weeks, and closed on 13 September. A summary of in-scope responses submitted to the consultation and the government’s response will be published in due course.

Broadcasting: Discrimination

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Ofcom on tackling the use of sexist and misogynistic language in broadcast news.

Sir John Whittingdale: Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code sets out rules to ensure that broadcast material which contains abusive or derogatory treatment of individuals or groups must not be included except where it is justified by the context.As the UK’s independent regulator, it is for Ofcom to determine whether there has been a breach of the Broadcasting Code, and whether to take action. In making any decision, Ofcom is required by the Communications Act 2003 to strike a balance between ensuring an appropriate level of freedom of expression and adequate protection from harmful material.Ministers and officials have regular discussions with Ofcom on a range of issues, but it is for Ofcom to determine any breaches of the Broadcasting Code.

Department of Health and Social Care

Radiology: Technology

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of radiologists using existing NHS radiology technology on the time it takes for them to interpret scans.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Radiology: Telemedicine

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of teleradiology companies used by the NHS are based outside the UK.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Radiology: Costs

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public purse was of outsourcing radiology scans to external teleradiology companies in each of the last five years.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dental Services: Durham

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is the Minister taking to increase access to NHS dental services in County Durham.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dental Services

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons his Department has not responded to the Health and Social Care Select Committee's report on NHS dentistry within two months of its publication on 14 July 2023.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Expenditure

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2023 to Question 159027 on NHS: Expenditure, how much NHS England, clinical commissioning groups and integrated care boards spent in aggregate on (a) mental health services, (b) acute health services, (c) social care services, (d) primary medical care, (e) other primary care services, (f) continuing healthcare, (g) specialised services and (h) other main categories of spending in each financial year since 2015-16; and how much NHS England and integrated care boards plan to spend in aggregate in each of those areas in 2023-24.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Agency Workers

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) nominal and (b) proportional change planned for 2023-24 is for (i) total, (ii) substantive, (iii) bank and (iv) agency workforce for (A) England and (B) each integrated care system, trust and foundation trust.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS England: Agency Workers

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the expenditure limit for agency staffing spend set by NHS England for 2022-23 was for each integrated care system, trust and foundation trust; what the year-end spending against that limit was for each of those organisations; and what limit has been set for each organisation for 2023-24.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Visual Impairment

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of blind and visually impaired people were prevented from accessing NHS estates with guide dogs in the last 12 months.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Visual Impairment

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department issues on the training NHS staff should receive on (a) assistance dogs and (b) supporting blind and visually impaired people.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

UK Health Security Agency: Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the UK Health Security Agency Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre spent on research and development in the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 financial years; and how much it expects to spend in 2023-24.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Smoking: Health Services

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of expanding the swap to stop scheme to include smoking cessation products such as nicotine replacement therapies.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospitals: Construction

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the transparency data entitled Ministry of Justice data: ministers hospitality, gifts, travel and meetings, January 2023 to March 2023, for what reason a meeting on 13 January 2023 with the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Lords on the New Hospitals Programme was removed from the release.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

GP Surgeries: Repairs and Maintenance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioners' report entitled Fit for the Future: Reshaping general practice infrastructure in England, published in May 2023, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's polices of that report's finding that almost three in four members that requested funding to upgrade their premises in the last year were unsuccessful in obtaining that funding.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Primary Health Care: Infrastructure

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase spending on (a) estates and (b) infrastructure for primary care.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of recipients of Healthy Start paper vouchers have not re-enrolled via the online registration system.

Neil O'Brien: The NHS Business Services Authority estimate that as of 15 October 2023 there were 20,500 households which previously were in receipt of paper vouchers which have not successfully applied to the NHS Healthy Start prepaid card scheme. This is around 7% of the 286,791 households that were in receipt of paper vouchers in August 2021. The 7% figure includes households that are no longer eligible to apply for the Healthy Start scheme. In September 2023, uptake for the Healthy Start scheme was 68.2%. Uptake of the fully digitised scheme is higher than the previous paper voucher scheme. Healthy Start now supports around 367,000 beneficiaries.

Gastrointestinal System: Health

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of gut health.

Will Quince: Information on digestive health is published by the National Health Service and is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/digestive-health/The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published best practice guidance, and a corresponding quality standard, on diagnosing and managing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in people aged 18 and over [CG61 and QS114]. These set out recommendations and quality standards for clinicians on the care for patients with IBS by promoting effective management using dietary and lifestyle advice, pharmacological therapy and referral for psychological interventions.To assist with increasing the visibility of its guidance, NICE promotes its guidance via its website, newsletters and other media. It also publishes information for the public, which explains the care people with IBS should receive as set out in the NICE guideline.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to review whistleblowing processes in the NHS.

Maria Caulfield: As part of its role to lead culture change so that speaking up becomes business as usual in the National Health Service, the National Guardian’s Office carries out Speak Up reviews, which seek to identify learning and changes that will improve the experience of workers, patients and the public. The most recent Speak Up review looked at NHS ambulance trusts to understand their speaking up culture and identify areas for improvement. The Care Quality Commission also looks at Freedom to Speak Up within NHS organisations under the ‘well led’ part of its assessment framework.   More generally, workers who blow the whistle are entitled to protections, which were introduced through the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. On 27 March 2023, the Government announced a review of the wider whistleblowing framework. The review will examine the effectiveness of the framework in meeting its intended objectives – namely to enable workers to come forward to speak up about wrongdoing and to protect those who do so against detriment and dismissal.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to promote screening for breast cancer to people who are eligible.

Will Quince: The Government is committed to supporting and improving the National Health Service breast screening programme. The Department has invested £10 million funding into the NHS Breast Screening Programme providing 28 new breast screening units targeted at areas with the greatest challenges of uptake and coverage. This will provide extra capacity for services to recover from the impact of the pandemic, boost uptake of screening in areas where attendance is low, tackle health disparities and contribute towards higher early diagnosis rates in line with the NHS Long Term Plan.In addition, steps are being taken to remove barriers to attending breast cancer screening such as promoting the use of text message alerts to remind women of upcoming appointments. NHS Breast Screening Providers are also being encouraged to work with cancer alliances, primary care networks, NHS England regional teams and the voluntary sector, to bring together work to promote uptake of breast screening and take action to ensure as many people as possible can access services.

Cystic Fibrosis: Medical Treatments

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of adding cystic fibrosis medication to the prescription chargeexemptionlist.

Will Quince: There are no current plans to review or extend the prescription charge medical exemptions list to include cystic fibrosis. Almost 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in England and there are arrangements in place to help those with the greatest need. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension. Those with cystic fibrosis or another long-term condition may therefore meet the eligibility criteria for prescription charge exemptions and be in receipt of free prescriptions. To support those who do not qualify for an exemption of prescription charges, the cost of prescriptions can be capped by purchasing a prescription pre-payment certificate, which can be paid for in instalments. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week. Additionally, people on a low income who do not qualify for an exemption from prescription charges can also seek help under the NHS Low Income Service, which provides help with health costs on an income-related basis.

Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the cap mechanism in the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access on (a) levels of investment in late stage clinical trials and (b) decisions taken by pharmaceutical companies regarding (i) whether and (ii) when to launch medicines in the UK.

Will Quince: The Government has assessed the link between the cap mechanism in our medicine pricing schemes and various kinds of investment in our impact assessment of recent updates to the statutory scheme for branded medicines pricing, which operates alongside the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS). The Government’s 2023 impact assessment of updates to the statutory scheme is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-update-to-the-2023-statutory-scheme-to-control-the-costs-of-branded-health-service-medicinesThe Government is working to better understand the impacts the operation of the current VPAS on the United Kingdom’s life sciences industry. We are in direct conversations with pharmaceutical companies, including in the recent pre-negotiation workshops, as well as the Department for Science Innovation and Technology, and Department for Business and Trade about the business environment for life sciences.Controlling medicine spend is a key departmental aim for both current and future schemes to improve patient outcomes by simplifying, streamlining, and improving access, pricing, and uptake arrangements for cost effective medicines, and deliver faster adoption of most clinically and cost-effective medicines.

Ophthalmic Services: Hospitals

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to issue guidance on hospital eye services partnering with local optometrists to deliver local care.

Neil O'Brien: In England, integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the planning and commissioning of services to meet local needs. This includes decisions on how to configure services and whether to commission enhanced eye care services from primary eye care providers, which could include glaucoma monitoring and pre- and post-operative cataract checks.NHS England have commissioned a range of pathfinder projects to examine how the current eye care pathways could be improved, including by the greater use of primary eye care providers. The outcomes of these projects will inform future commissioning decisions by ICBs.In addition, to support ICBs in this area we are working with the profession and NHS England to develop a standard service specification for minor and urgent eye care services. These services have the potential to remove demand from hospital services and provide care for minor conditions closer to home.

Dentistry: Training

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making Dental (a) Foundation and (b) Vocational Training mandatory for dentists entering private practice.

Neil O'Brien: As set out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, we believe it is right and fair to seek better value for the significant investment that the taxpayer makes in the education and training of the dental workforce.As the Workforce Plan sets out, the National Health Service and Government will explore whether a tie-in would ensure that dentists spend a greater proportion of their time delivering NHS dental care.

Ovarian Cancer: Medical Treatments and Screening

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing funding for (a) screening and (b) treating ovarian cancer.

Will Quince: There is currently no screening programme for ovarian cancer. The UK National Screening Committee reviewed the evidence for ovarian cancer screening in 2017 and found that screening did not reduce the number of women who died from ovarian cancer, and therefore the Department has no plans to make an assessment on the merits to increase funding for this.The Department invests in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR has funded six research projects into screening for ovarian cancer since 2018, with a combined total funding value of £3.8 million, including looking at the impact and effectiveness of different kinds of testing and screening and effectiveness of treatment options. The overall goal is to improve diagnosis and treatment to improve patient outcomes.To improve waiting times for cancer diagnosis and treatment, including for ovarian cancer, the Government has committed to funding of £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25. This is supported by £5.9 billion capital funding for new beds, technology and equipment, from which 123 community diagnostic centres and 94 surgical hubs have already been rolled out to support elective activity, including for cancer.NHS England also funded a series of community engagement events coordinated by a cluster of gynaecological cancer charities, led by Target Ovarian Cancer. These events were held to raise awareness of the importance of seeking help and encouraged people to see their general practitioner if they had symptoms such as stomach discomfort, bloating or pain, as the earlier the cancer is detected, the easier it is to treat.

Tobacco: Sales

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of raising of the age at which someone can purchase cigarettes by a year each successive year on NHS spending.

Neil O'Brien: Indicative modelling on the smokefree generation suggests healthcare savings of up to £18 billion by 2075. A further breakdown of this modelling is contained within Annex 1 of Stopping the start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stopping-the-start-our-new-plan-to-create-a-smokefree-generation/annex-1-modelling-assumptionsThis modelling is preliminary and will continue to be further refined ahead of publication of a full impact assessment.

Nicotine: Children

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to address the use of sweet flavoured nicotine powders by minors.

Neil O'Brien: Oral nicotine pouches are white pouches containing nicotine and other ingredients, including flavourings, and do not contain tobacco. Nicotine powder is the raw ingredients within the pouch.Prevalence of nicotine pouches remains low, and whilst there is currently no age of sale restrictions on nicotine pouches, manufacturers do print age restrictions on their packs.The UK Government and devolved administrations recently launched a consultation on our proposals for a smokefree generation. This includes consideration of whether the government should regulate other consumer nicotine products, such as nicotine pouches, under a similar regulatory framework as nicotine vapes. The consultation is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/creating-a-smokefree-generation-and-tackling-youth-vaping

Dental Services: North of England

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people registered with an NHS dentist are within the (a) Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board and (b) North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System as of 13 October 2023.

Neil O'Brien: Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental practice, although many of these practices do tend to see patients regularly. NHS dental practices are contracted to deliver activity and to deliver a course of treatment to an individual irrelevant of where they live, rather than to provide ongoing regular care. This means that there is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend, allowing patients the choice of where they would like to receive a course of treatment.

General Practitioners: Portsmouth South

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people on waiting lists for GP appointments in Portsmouth South constituency.

Neil O'Brien: General practice does not operate with waiting lists. NHS England publishes monthly data on General Practice Appointments, including the approximate length of time between appointments being booked and taking place, but this is not a proxy for “waiting times”.There are several factors which can influence the timing of appointments, and it is not possible to estimate the time between the patient’s first attempt to contact their surgery and an appointment.

Dental Services and General Practitioners: Portsmouth South

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve recruitment and retention in (a) GP services and (b) dentistry services in Portsmouth South constituency.

Neil O'Brien: We are working with NHS England to increase the general practice (GP) workforce in England, including Portsmouth South. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encourage them to return to practice. NHS England has made available several new schemes, alongside continued support for existing recruitment and retention schemes for the general practice workforce.To boost recruitment, we have increased the number of GP training places. Last year, we saw 4,032 trainees accepting a place on GP training, up from 2,671 in 2014.  The number of training places will rise to 6,000 by 2031/32, with the first 500 new places available from September 2025.We are also taking steps to address the dental workforce challenges across the country. As set out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, we are going to increase dentistry training places by 40% so that there are over 1,100 places by 2031/32. We know that we must go further and that is why we are working with the sector and NHSE to consider further wider-reaching changes to improve the system.

Dental Services: Houghton and Sunderland South

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dental services in Houghton and Sunderland South constituency.

Neil O'Brien: We are currently working on a plan for dentistry to improve access to dental care across England, including in Houghton and Sunderland South constituency. There are several fronts where we need to take further action to support and recover activity in National Health Service dentistry, to improve access to care for all ages.Our dentistry recovery plan will build upon the first package of reforms agreed in July 2022, which included changes to banding and the introduction of a minimum Units of Dental Activity value. Our plan will include addressing how we continue to improve access, particularly for new patients, and how we make NHS work more attractive to ensure dentists are incentivised to deliver more NHS care.It is now a legal requirement for dentists to update their information on the NHS website to improve the information available to patients. These regulations came into effect in November 2022. Patients who are struggling to find a local dentist can contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre for assistance or contact NHS 111 if seeking urgent care.NHS England has recently provided guidance for integrated care boards (ICBs) that requires dental funding to be ringfenced, with any unused resources re-directed to improve NHS dental access in the first instance. This includes in Houghton and Sunderland South constituency.Additional funding has been made available by ICBs to local practices, including in Houghton and Sunderland South constituency, which have the capacity to deliver additional clinical sessions outside of their normal opening hours. This is to provide treatment to patients with urgent dental care needs, as well as for the prioritisation of looked after children and unscheduled care patients with dental complaints and complex high care needs. This pilot scheme is in place until the end of March 2024.

Dentistry: Qualifications

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of expanding the number of mutual recognition schemes in dentistry qualifications.

Neil O'Brien: The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator of dentists and dental care professionals practising in the United Kingdom. In March 2023, we introduced legislation that gives the GDC greater flexibility to expand the registration routes for international applicants and improve its international registration processes. This includes giving the GDC the ability to recognise overseas diplomas as demonstrating the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience for registration in the UK.

Dentistry: Migrant Workers

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the General Dental Council on proposed changes to the Overseas Registration Exam.

Neil O'Brien: The Department works closely with the General Dental Council (GDC) to support the efficient delivery of the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE), whilst maintaining high standards within the dental profession. We welcome the GDC’s recent announcement that it has increased the number of places available to sit both parts of the ORE in 2023 and 2024. This will enable individuals with overseas qualifications to more quickly gain the opportunity to become registered dentists in the United Kingdom. Legislative changes that came into force in March 2023 have given the GDC greater flexibility in the running of the ORE. The GDC recently consulted on routes to registration for internationally qualified dentists and dental care professionals, including rules relating to the ORE. We look forward to GDC publishing the outcome of this consultation shortly.

Obesity: Children

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on obesity rates among children in the last five years; and when he plans to publish his Department's most recent data on Overweight children.

Neil O'Brien: The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) collects data on the weight status of children aged 4-5 years (Reception) and 10-11 years (Year 6). The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities publishes national and local level data on Fingertips. The following table shows data on national obesity prevalence from the NCMP in the last five years.Prevalence of obesity (including severe obesity) in EnglandYearReception (%)Year 6 (%)2017/189.520.12018/199.720.22019/209.921.02020/2114.425.52021/2210.123.4 The most recent NCMP data on overweight children will be published by NHS England on Thursday 19th October 2023. The report will present analysis of height and weight data recorded among children in reception (aged 4-5) and year 6 (aged 10-11) for the school year 2022/23.

Dental Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to help support patients unable to access NHS dental services.

Neil O'Brien: Patients who are struggling to find a local dentist can contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre for assistance or contact NHS 111 if seeking urgent care.We are currently working on a dental recovery plan to improve access to dental care across England. There are several fronts where we need to take further action to support and recover activity in National Health Service dentistry, to improve access to care for all ages.

Dental Services: Lancaster and Fleetwood

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to improve access to NHS dentistry in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.

Neil O'Brien: Our Dentistry Recovery Plan will build upon the first package of reforms agreed in July 2022, which included changes to banding and the introduction of a minimum Units of Dental Activity value. Our plan will include addressing how we continue to improve access, particularly for new patients, and how we make National Health Service work more attractive to ensure dentists are incentivised to deliver NHS care. In Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency, the local integrated care board is currently working on a dental access and oral health improvement programme, which aims to address the current challenges facing NHS dental services.The dental access and oral health improvement programme recognises that prevention is key to keep the population orally healthy and targets resources at those facing the greatest health inequalities.

General Practitioners

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the availability of face-to-face GP appointments on trends in the number of young people opting for (a) online and (b) telephone GP appointments.

Neil O'Brien: No such assessment has been made. However, our Primary Care Recovery Plan sets out how by improving digital access to general practice, we will free up capacity for those patients who prefer to contact their practice by telephone or in person.Face-to-face alongside remote appointments provide a choice of access routes for patients and additional flexibility and convenience. We expect patients to experience the same high quality of care regardless of how they access their general practice, and patients unable to access remote appointments should be offered an alternative appointment type.

Committee on Mutagenicity: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Neil O'Brien: The Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment did not spend any funds on equality and diversity training in 2022/23.

Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Neil O'Brien: The Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration recorded no expenditure on equality and diversity training in the 2022/23 financial year.

NHS: Vacancies

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of NHS workforce vacancies in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England; and what steps he is taking to fill such vacancies in those areas.

Will Quince: NHS England publishes vacancy statistics for England on a quarterly basis. These present the difference between funded establishment posts and those filled by substantive staff. They do not indicate where vacancies are currently filled with temporary staffing and therefore do not equate to unfilled shifts.The statistics are published at a national and a regional level. The data does not allow a differentiation between West and East Midlands. Data is also not available by city; however, NHS England has published trust level vacancy rates for March 2023.The latest statistics show that as of June 2023, there are 125,572 full time equivalent (FTE) vacancies across National Health Service trusts in England, representing a rate of 8.9%. For NHS trusts in the Midlands, there are 23,639 FTE vacancies, also representing a rate of 8.9%. As of March 2023, the vacancy rate for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, was 6.3%.The NHS published the Long Term Workforce Plan in June this year, backed by over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places. The Long Term Workforce Plan will double medical school training places to 15,000 by 2031, increase the number of general practitioner training places by 50% to 6,000 by 2031 and almost double the number of adult nurse training places by 2031, with around 58,000 nurse and midwife training places a year by 2031/32.

Smoking: Medical Treatments

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending prescribing rights for stop smoking medicines to (a) dentists, (b) opticians and (c) specialist nurses.

Will Quince: On 4 October 2023, as part of the Prime Minister’s smokefree generation announcement, the Government also announced an additional £70 million of funding per year to local stop smoking services to help even more people to quit smoking. Local authorities will work with a range of local partners to deliver this. The announcement is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stopping-the-start-our-new-plan-to-create-a-smokefree-generationDentists are all qualified prescribers. Several health professions can undertake training to independently prescribe including nurses and optometrists. This allows healthcare professionals who have the necessary skills and experience to prescribe within their area of professional competence. These professionals would need to have the necessary skills in prescribing nicotine replacement therapy and have been commissioned to provide the service.

General Practitioners: Enfield North

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2023 to Question 199250 on General Practitioners: Enfield North, how many (a) branch and (b) main surgeries there are in Enfield North constituency.

Neil O'Brien: There are eight branch surgeries and five main surgeries in Enfield North constituency. This data is sourced from NHS England Organisation Data Service as at 25 August 2023, and is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/services/organisation-data-service/export-data-files/csv-downloads/gp-and-gp-practice-related-data

Rare Diseases: Drugs

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many highly specialised technology evaluations of medicines for very rare diseases conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence resulted in (a) a positive recommendation, (b) an optimised recommendation, (c) a recommendation for managed access, (d) a negative recommendation and (e) termination in each financial year since 2018-19.

Will Quince: The following table shows a breakdown of technologies appraised through the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s highly specialised technology process by financial year from 2018/19: Financial Year2018/192019/202020/212021/222022/23TotalRecommended1424415Optimised000011Not recommended000000Total1424516Terminated000000

Preventive Medicine

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to assess the cost-effectiveness of his Department's preventive healthcare strategies; and whether his Department has conducted research on the (a) cost-effectiveness and (b) impact on public health outcomes of preventive healthcare interventions.

Neil O'Brien: The Department assesses the cost-effectiveness of prevention measures through a rigorous and evidence-based approach. The Department publishes impact assessments for policy proposals applying the methodology outlined in the Green Book, which provides guidance on appraising Government policy, programmes and projects. The Green Book is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-green-book-appraisal-and-evaluation-in-central-governent/the-green-book-2020 There is a wide range of published research and evidence on preventative healthcare interventions, which informs both the development of policy and advice issued to health services including by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. In 2017, Public Health England published the Health Economics Evidence Resource which summarized the evidence on the cost-effectiveness of various prevention interventions used by local authorities. The Health Economics Evidence Resource is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-economics-evidence-resource

Rare Diseases: Drugs

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many single technology appraisals for medicines for rare diseases conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence resulted in (a) a positive recommendation, (b) an optimised recommendation, (c) a recommendation for managed access, (d) a negative recommendation and (e) termination in each financial year since 2018-19.

Will Quince: The following table shows a breakdown of technologies with designated orphan status appraised through the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence resulted single technology appraisal process by financial year from 2018/19: Financial Year2018/192019/202020/212021/222022/23TotalRecommended21611525Recommended (Cancer Drugs Fund)224008Optimised3933826Optimised (Cancer Drugs Fund)110103Research Only000000Not Recommended200125Total101313161567Terminated15510223 Medicines with an orphan designation are for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening or chronically debilitating condition that is rare, namely affecting not more than five in 10,000 people in Great Britain, or where the medicine is unlikely to generate sufficient profit to justify research and development costs.

Preventive Medicine

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the effectiveness of preventive healthcare (a) programs and (b) interventions at (i) increasing average life expectancy and (b) reducing the incidence of preventable diseases in the last 10 years; and whether his Department has conducted research on the effectiveness of individual preventive healthcare (A) programs and (B) interventions.

Neil O'Brien: The Department is taking action to improve healthy life expectancy (HLE), improve average life expectancy (LE) and reduce incidence of preventable disease. We monitor the impact of our programmes and interventions on their target metrics, and we are working towards understanding their impact on HLE as part of our work to drive progress on our Levelling Up health mission. On 24 January 2023, we announced our plan to publish the Major Conditions Strategy. This strategy will explore how we can tackle the key drivers of ill-health in England. The strategy will focus on six major groups of conditions, namely cancers, mental health, cardiovascular disease (including stroke and diabetes), dementia, chronic respiratory diseases, and musculoskeletal disorders, that account for approximately 60% of ill-health and early death in England. There is a wide range of published research and evidence on preventative healthcare interventions, which informs both the development of policy and advice issues to health services including by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. In 2017, PHE published the Health Economics Evidence Resource, available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-economics-evidence-resourceThis summarised the evidence on the cost-effectiveness of various prevention interventions used by local authorities. Through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Department has funded research on preventative healthcare interventions. For example, the NIHR Health and Social Care Delivery Research Programme funded study ‘What happens after an NHS Health Check? A survey and realist review’ has recently reported. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including preventative healthcare interventions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. NIHR funded research is published in its journals library which is available at the following link: https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk

Health Services and Social Services: Staff

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to provide financial support to (a) health and (b) social care workers who are affected by ultra-low emissions zones.

Will Quince: Most National Health Service staff on national contracts who necessarily incur charges in the performance of their duties, in relation to parking, garage costs, tolls and ferries shall be refunded these expenses on production of receipts, whenever these are available.Most care workers are employed by private sector providers who set their pay and terms and conditions, independent of central government. Local authorities work with care providers to determine fee rates, which should take account of wage costs, based on local market conditions. Local authorities should assure themselves that providers are sufficiently remunerating staff to retain an effective workforce.The Government has now made available up to £8.1 billion in additional funding over two years to support adult social care and discharge.

Preventive Medicine

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding he has allocated to spending on preventive healthcare in the next fiscal year.

Neil O'Brien: Core annual allocations are made to integrated care boards and Local Authorities for their health functions, and do not specify amounts allocated for preventative health care. The balance of local spend between preventative care and other services is determined by local commissioners.

Prescription Drugs

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the level of availability of prescription drugs from unregulated sources.

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to prevent the unlawful sale of prescription medicines through online platforms.

Will Quince: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the regulator within the United Kingdom for human medicines and is responsible for enforcing the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. The MHRA has identified the illegal sale and supply of human medicines as a global challenge. This includes the sale of prescription drugs from unregulated sources. Criminal gangs, often based overseas, advertise medicines through websites resembling those of legitimate pharmacies, while others exploit online marketplaces or sell social media platforms.The MHRA has a dedicated Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) that works with partners across government and policing to prevent and disrupt this illegal trade and to bring to justice those involved. The CEU monitors online channels for evidence of illegal activity and takes proportionate regulatory action. This includes using the full range of the agency’s powers to investigate and prosecute offenders where necessary and appropriate. The unit also works to remove illegally trading websites and remove criminal profits from offenders. Through its #Fakemeds communications campaign the MHRA also provides quick and easy tools to help the public avoid buying illegally traded medicines when they shop online.

General Practitioners: Standards

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Primary Care Data Gathering Programme carried out for NHS England between 2020 and 2022 relating to the condition of GP practice estates, if he will publish findings on (a) premises ownership, (b) backlog maintenance, (c) site usage, (d) age of premises, (e) EPC/DEC ratings, (f) condition of estate, (g) premises suitability, (h) decontamination and infection control compliance, (i) clinical rooms and (j) compliance with (i) statutory and contractual standards on health and safety, (ii) asbestos, (iii) the Equality Act, (iv) risk management and (v) business continuity.

Will Quince: The data collected through the Primary Care Data Gathering Programme will be used locally by integrated care boards to develop their Infrastructure Strategies which will be submitted to NHS England by March 2024. NHS England does not intend to publish practice-level data.

Hospitals: Food

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of levels of (a) patient and (b) staff satisfaction with hospital food.

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS trusts have a named board member with responsibility for hospital food.

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the measurement criteria for the effectiveness of improvements in hospital food.

Will Quince: NHS England is collecting data about trusts’ progress in implementing the eight mandatory elements of the Hospital Food and Drink Standards, including trusts having a named board member with responsibility for hospital food. The results are expected by March 2024.Results from NHS England’s latest survey into patient’s assessment of their care survey published in March 2023 show a 90% approval on food/hydration, which demonstrates the overall impact of the improvements being made to hospital food such as the roll out of the eight mandatory Hospital Food and Drink Standards.

Hospitals: Lancashire

Mr Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on the New Hospital Programme in Preston and Lancaster; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: The New Hospital Programme (NHP) scheme for Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary is at the early stages of development and the trusts are currently exploring options for sites, including investment at Furness General Hospital. This will include a public consultation, expected in 2024. The trusts have received an overall indicative funding allocation for their scheme to support planning, and up to the end of the 2022/23 financial year, the trusts have received £11.36 million in fees and funding for the development of their scheme.We are working closely with Preston and Lancaster on how our national standardised approach, Hospital 2.0, can support their plans using standardised designs to streamline approvals and speed up construction. This will deliver improvements for patients and staff whilst driving cost reduction and decreasing overall development timescales.

Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Maria Caulfield: The Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee did not spend any funds on equality and diversity training in 2022/23.

Speech and Language Therapy: Children

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children were receiving auditory verbal therapy in England as of 6 October 2023; if his Department will make an estimate of the number of deaf children in England who might benefit from such therapy; if his Department will make an assessment of the (a) accessibility of auditory verbal therapy to deaf children through the NHS and (b) potential social return on further investment in that therapy; and whether his Department has plans to provide investment to train an additional 300 specialist therapists as recommended by Auditory Verbal UK.

Maria Caulfield: Data regarding the number of children receiving Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) in England is not held centrally. According to the National Deaf Children’s Society, there are over 50,000 deaf children in England. There are currently no plans to make an estimate of the number of deaf children in England who could benefit from AVT. Similarly, there are currently no plans to assess the accessibility of AVT for deaf children through the NHS or the potential social return on further investment in this therapy.‘Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A Framework for Clinical Commissioning Groups’ was published in July 2016. This framework supports CCGs (and now integrated care boards) to make informed decisions about what is good value for the populations they serve and provide more consistent, high quality, integrated care. It also addresses inequalities in access and outcomes between hearing services.There are also no plans currently to provide specific investment in training Auditory Verbal therapists. However, we recognise the need to improve access to therapies generally. Since September 2020, all eligible nursing, midwifery and allied health profession students have received a non-repayable training grant of a minimum of £5,000 per academic year. Additional funding is also available for studying certain courses – for example, Mental Health Nursing and Learning Disabilities Nursing - with further financial support available to students for childcare, dual accommodation costs and travel.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Mrs Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take with Cabinet colleagues to help support people with obsessive compulsive disorder in (a) the workplace and (b) other public settings.

Maria Caulfield: We are continuing to work across Government to address the social, economic and environmental causes of mental ill health. We are currently working with stakeholders to develop a tool which will potentially better support policymakers across Whitehall to examine the impact of their proposals on mental health, including obsessive compulsive disorder.

Coronavirus: Screening

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to ensure that results from privately purchased rapid lateral flow tests for Covid-19 can be reported on the Gov.uk website.

Maria Caulfield: Lateral flow device (LFD) tests which are privately purchased cannot currently be registered on GOV.UK and there is no requirement to report these results to the provider. There are currently no plans to change the policy on reporting private COVID-19 test results.For citizens that are eligible to order free LFD tests from the UK Health Security Agency, these tests can still be registered on GOV.UK.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism: Diagnosis

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to improve (a) assessment and (b) diagnosis processes for adults with (i) autism and (ii) ADHD.

Maria Caulfield: We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to have due regard to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when commissioning services, including assessment and diagnosis services.In respect of autism, on 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. This guidance will help the National Health Service improve autism assessment services and improve the experience for people referred to an autism assessment service.Each ICB must have an Executive Lead for learning disability and autism to support them to deliver care and support for autistic people in their area. NHS England has published statutory guidance on these Executive Lead roles. This year, we are updating the Statutory Guidance on Autism to support the NHS and local authorities to deliver improved outcomes for autistic people.Regarding ADHD, NICE guidelines for ADHD diagnosis and management aim to improve the diagnosis of ADHD and the quality of care and support people receive. The Department is investigating options for improving data collection and reporting on waiting times for ADHD assessments and diagnoses, to help improve access to ADHD assessments in a timely way and in line with the NICE guidelines.

Tourette's Syndrome: Health Services

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had recent discussions with NHS England on expanding the provision of clinical care for Tourette Syndrome.

Maria Caulfield: No recent discussions have taken place.The majority of services for people with Tourette syndrome are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs are best placed to make decisions regarding the provision of health services to their local population, including for the treatment of Tourette syndrome, subject to local prioritisation and funding.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of prioritising the covid-19 vaccine booster programme for people diagnosed with long-covid.

Maria Caulfield: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an independent group of experts who advise the Government health departments in the four nations of the United Kingdom on immunisations and the prevention of infectious disease. On 8 August 2023, the Government accepted advice from the JCVI on who should be offered COVID-19 vaccination in autumn 2023.The primary aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of severe illness, namely hospitalisations and deaths, arising from COVID-19. The JCVI advice is to focus the offer of vaccination on those at greatest risk of serious disease or at high risk of transmitting the disease to vulnerable individuals. For this autumn the eligible groups for vaccination are residents and staff in a care home for older adults, all adults aged 65 years old and over, persons aged 6 months to 64 years old in a clinical risk group, frontline health and social care workers, persons aged 12 to 64 years old who are household contacts and persons aged 16 to 64 years old who are carers.The clinical risk groups for COVID-19 vaccination are defined in the UK Health Security Agency’s ‘Green Book’ on vaccines and immunisation Chapter 14a tables 3 and 4. Post-COVID Syndrome (long COVID) is not currently identified by the JCVI as one of these conditions. The JCVI considered post-COVID syndromes when developing advice for autumn 2023 and concluded that there is not currently sufficient evidence to support making individuals experiencing post-COVID syndrome an eligible group for vaccination.To support individuals with long COVID, NHS England has set out a long COVID action plan, including establishing a nationwide network of specialist clinics. Anyone who is concerned about ongoing symptoms following COVID-19 can find information and advice on the ‘NHS Your COVID Recovery’ website. The JCVI will continue to review evidence and will provide further advice regarding future vaccination programmes in due course.

Mental Health Services: Ambulance Services

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many specialist mental health ambulances were in use in the NHS in September (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.

Maria Caulfield: This information is not held centrally.

Influenza: Vaccination

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the uptake of flu vaccination across (a) support staff and (b) other professions working in the NHS.

Maria Caulfield: All providers delivering services under the NHS Standard Contract are contractually responsible for ensuring that all eligible frontline staff in contact with service users are vaccinated for flu. NHS England policy is to ensure all frontline patient facing staff working in Trusts are offered a flu vaccination.NHS England is making best us of established networks to encourage uptake of flu vaccination by frontline health and care workers. This is being achieved using owned communication channels to target National Health Service and care staff and encouraging stakeholders, employers, and Government departments to share messaging, content and case studies with frontline professionals, their members and service users.NHS England has developed a set of over 85 creative assets for local sites to use for the current seasonal flu campaign, including an FAQ leaflet and core messages, which have been available to order as print copies from Campaign Resource Centre since August 2023 with digital versions available to download throughout the campaign.NHS England is also sharing regularly updated messaging, as well as highlighting and sharing best practice with its employer networks and reminding them of their responsibility to ensure staff are physically and mentally fit for work.

Autism: Mental Health Services

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to set targets for reducing the number of people with autism without a learning disability that are confined to inpatient care in mental health hospitals.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Long Term plan commits to achieving a 50% net reduction in the number of autistic people and people with a learning disability who are inpatients in mental health hospitals by end of March 2024. This objective is inclusive of autistic inpatients who are not diagnosed with a learning disability.

Shingles: Vaccination

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the guidance entitled Vaccination against shingles guide from September 2023, updated on 22 August 2023, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential merits of providing all people aged between 65 and 69 a free vaccination for shingles.

Maria Caulfield: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised Government on the rollout of the cohort expansion for the Shingles programme. Their advice was that the expansion should be done in stages, beginning with those aged 65 and 70 years old, and was based on various considerations, including population impact. The Government has accepted this advice, and it forms the basis of NHS England guidance on the programme.

Autism: Mental Health Services

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of people with autism that are confined to inpatient care in mental health hospitals.

Maria Caulfield: In July 2022, we published the Building the Right Support (BtRS) Action Plan, which sets out cross-government actions to strengthen community support and reduce reliance on mental health inpatient care for autistic people and people with a learning disability.The BtRS Delivery Board is overseeing implementation of the Action Plan. The Board includes representatives from across government and public services who are working together to drive faster progress, identifying new actions and mitigations as appropriate.This year, we are investing an additional £121 million to improve community support as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, including funding for Children and Young People’s keyworkers.

Neonatal Mortality

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to MBRRACE-UK's report entitled UK Perinatal Deaths for Births from January to December 2021, published in September 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's polices of that report's finding that neonatal mortality increased in 2021 across all gestational age groups.

Maria Caulfield: We take the findings of the recent MBRRACE-UK report extremely seriously. Between 2010 and 2022, the stillbirth rate had reduced by 23%, and the neonatal mortality rate for babies born over the 24-week gestational age of viability had reduced by 30%. We are working to understand why a recent increase has been reported, including considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.In partnership with the National Health Service, the Government is committed to improving maternity outcomes and continuing to work towards achieving the targets of the Maternity Safety Ambition which include halving the 2010 rates of stillbirths and neonatal deaths. The NHS is investing an additional £165 million annually, in maternity and neonatal services across England. This will rise by £21 million to £186 million from 2024/25 with part year effect in 2023/24. NHS England published its three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services to outline how the NHS will make maternity care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for women and their babies.Additionally, the new Maternity and Neonatal National Oversight Group brings together key experts from across the maternity improvement programmes and the implementation of recommendations from maternity reviews.

Pentonville Prison: Mental Health Services

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of mental health support provision inside Pentonville Prison.

Maria Caulfield: Mental health services at HMP Pentonville are continuously assessed through peer review, quality visits by the healthcare provider Practice Plus Group in conjunction with NHS England (London Region) and internal auditing procedures. Quarterly assurance meetings take place between NHS England and Practice Plus Group. Mental health services at the prison were revised as part of New Models of Care in 2022, a pan London remodelling of prison healthcare services with the aim of improving patient safety, enhancing responsiveness to patient need and ensuring that services available met the needs of patients in prison. The New Models of Care have been fully embedded into the new healthcare contract at HMP Pentonville, which commenced in May 2023. In addition, the prison had a full HM Inspectorate of Prisons and Care Quality Commission inspection in July 2022 which made one recommendation in respect of mental health waiting times for initial assessment. A subsequent Independent Review of Progress visit in March 2023 found that reasonable progress had been made against this recommendation. The healthcare team at HMP Pentonville has a dedicated patient engagement lead who conducts regular patient focus groups to gain an understanding of the views of the patient group, in respect to quality and availability of services. In addition, User Voice were commissioned by NHS England in August 2023, to undertake a patient focus group specifically around mental health services in HMP Pentonville, to enhance the current understanding of the experiences of people using mental health services in the prison and to identify areas where further improvement could be made.

Mental Health Services: St Helens North

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of mental health specialists in St Helens North constituency.

Maria Caulfield: The National Health Service has published a Long Term Workforce Plan which outlines the steps the Government is taking to support the recruitment and retention of mental health specialists, including in St Helens North constituency. A copy of the plan is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/nhs-long-term-workforce-plan-v1.1.pdf

Childbirth

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reach his target of reducing pre-term births from 8% to 6% by 2025.

Maria Caulfield: The Government has introduced a range of initiatives to drive progress towards the National Maternity Safety Ambition, which includes an ambition to reduce pre-term births from 8% to 6% by 2025.Most recently, NHS England’s Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle provides up-to-date, evidence-based best practice for providers and commissioners of maternity care across England to reduce perinatal mortality. The latest version was published in May 2023 and comprises of six elements, including an element which focuses on reducing pre-term birth.This element recommends three intervention areas to reduce adverse foetal and neonatal outcomes, and encourages providers to draw upon the learning from existing British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) toolkits and the wide range of resources from other successful regional programmes.

Mental Health Services: Emergency Calls

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to establish a mental health emergency helpline.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Long Term Plan committed to delivering 100% coverage across the country of age-appropriate mental health crisis-care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via NHS111 by April 2024. The Urgent and Emergency Care Services Recovery Plan, published in January 2023, reiterated this commitment and timescale. This will enable anyone experiencing mental health crisis to access assessment and, if appropriate, onward referral and treatment at any time of the day by calling NHS111.For those with severe needs or in crisis, urgent mental health helplines are already available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in all areas of the country. These crisis lines currently take around 200,000 calls a month. Linking all crisis lines through to NHS111 will provide a consistent route for people to access support across the country.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Mental Health Support Teams in reducing levels of demand on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Maria Caulfield: An independent early evaluation commissioned by the Department of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Trailblazer programme was published in January and is available at the following link:https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/brace/projects/children-and-young-people's-mental-health-trailblazer-programme.aspxThe evaluation examines the development, implementation, and early progress of the first wave of mental health support teams in the first 25 ‘trailblazer’ areas participating in the programme, which became operational from January 2020.A second independent evaluation, which will consider the longer-term impacts of Mental Health Support Teams has also been commissioned through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). This project commenced in June 2023 and is due to complete June 2026. The findings will be published once a final report has been submitted and approved by the NIHR.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism: Diagnosis

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of masking on adult (a) autism and (b) ADHD assessments.

Maria Caulfield: No such assessment has been made. We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) and National Health Service trusts to have due regard to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism when commissioning and providing services for people, including assessments. It is the responsibility of ICBs to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, in line with these NICE guidelines.In April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. This framework aims to help the NHS improve the quality of their autism assessment services and improve the experience for people who are referred to an autism assessment service. It also includes operational guidance, intended to guide strategic decision making about the range of autism assessment services that should be provided in each area. It makes clear that clinicians should offer a comprehensive assessment that includes considerations of different factors that may be relevant for confirming a diagnosis of autism.

Brain Cancer: Children

Ms Anum Qaisar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding the Government has made available for research into paediatric brain tumours in each of the last five years.

Will Quince: The Department invests in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR invests in research, clinical expertise, specialist facilities, workforce, and support services across a range of clinical areas. NIHR expenditure on cancer research was over £101 million in 2021/22.The Government is committed to funding high-quality brain cancer research. In May 2018 the Government announced £40 million for brain tumour research as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission through the NIHR. This includes research into paediatric brain tumours.The £40 million funding will remain available; if we can spend more on the best quality science, we will do. The level of funding for brain tumour research depends on funding applications received. It is worth noting that all applications to NIHR that have been assessed as “fundable” in open competition have been funded and this will continue.

NHS: Drugs

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 16 of Annex B of the Impact Assessment for the Statutory Scheme – Branded Medicines Pricing, what the evidential basis is for the assessment that the resources deployed through pharmaceutical investment would come to the UK in another form; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential efficiency of alternative deployment of resources.

Will Quince: The approach to assessing the potential impacts on investment within the statutory scheme’s impact assessment followed well established precedent and is in-line with the Green Book paragraphs 6.5 and 6.6. As such the impact assessment considers spill-over benefits of investment, with a literature review suggesting an estimated mean benefit of 34% of the overall investment, but does not account for these within the net present value calculation due to investment being one of several possible company responses to change in profitability.We are in the process of analysing the responses provided to the consultation on this statutory scheme and will update on our preferred policy approach later this year.Regarding alternative deployment of resource, by controlling growth in the cost of medicines we ensure value for money for the taxpayer and enable the National Health Service to continue investing in patient access to new medicines. Any additional spending on medicines may come at the cost of other equally (or more) effective healthcare spending.

Heart Diseases: Health Services

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the recommendations of the British Society for Echocardiography made in its report entitled The UK Echocardiography Workforce published in June 2023, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that the NHS retains a sufficient number of experienced echocardiographers to train new recruits.

Will Quince: NHS England has developed a new fast-track echocardiography training scheme, which has led to 150 additional echocardiographers with further support being available in 2023/24.More generally, the NHS People Plan and the People Promise set out a comprehensive range of actions to improve staff retention. They provide a strong focus on creating a more modern, compassionate and inclusive culture in the National Health Service by strengthening health and wellbeing, equality and diversity, culture and leadership and flexible working. NHS priorities and operational planning guidance 23/24 has asked systems to refresh their 2022/23 whole system workforce plans to improve staff retention through a systematic focus on all elements of the NHS People Promise.  Staff wellbeing should be strategically aligned with elective recovery plans, including workforce demand and capacity planning.  In addition, the NHS Retention Programme is continuously seeking to understand why staff leave, resulting in targeted interventions to support staff to stay whilst keeping them well. The Long Term Workforce Plan builds on the People Plan and sets out how to improve culture and leadership to ensure that up to 130,000 fewer staff leave the NHS over the next 15 years. This includes: implementing actions from the NHS People Plan that have been shown to be successful; and implementing plans to improve flexible opportunities for prospective retirees and delivering the actions needed to modernise the NHS pension scheme. These interventions apply across staff groups, including echocardiographers.

Health Services

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the major conditions strategy.

Will Quince: Our intention is to publish the Major Conditions Strategy in early 2024.

Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the proposed update to the 2023 statutory scheme to control the cost of branded health services medicines, what (a) evidential basis and (b) analysis his Department considered when proposing to keep growth in the branded medicines bill in real terms decline, at 2 per cent per annum.

Will Quince: The Government is currently consulting on updates to the statutory scheme to make sure that the scheme can continue to meet its objectives from 2024 onwards. The evidential basis and analysis considered is set out in the consultation stage impact assessment of the proposed updates that has been published, which is available at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1179564/impact-assessment-review-scheme-cost-branded-medicines-updated-21-august-2023.pdf2% allowed growth per annum represents an 80% rise in allowed growth compared to the 1.1% per annum which applied from 2019 to 2023. The proposal is consistent with the approach that underpinned the current statutory scheme’s 1.1% allowed growth, i.e., it equals the average allowed growth of the preceding voluntary scheme. The Government welcomes responses on all aspects of this consultation. The impact assessment will be updated with consideration to evidence provided by companies and other stakeholders when the Department publishes its consultation response.

Dementia: Research

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with dementia are routinely offered the option of taking part in research.

Will Quince: The Government is strongly committed to supporting research into dementia. Join Dementia Research (JDR), delivered by the Department via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and in partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer Scotland and Alzheimer’s Research UK, is our main tool for enabling people to register their interest in dementia research and be matched to trials. The goal is to improve participation and diversity in dementia research by making it possible for anyone who wants to be involved in dementia research to get the chance to do so.To increase uptake and awareness of research opportunities, the NIHR is undertaking several actions, including, direct text messaging from general practitioners to patients at selected sites across England, establishing links with NHS Memory Services and other care networks to integrate discussion of JDR into their processes, working with the NHS Admiral Nurses to develop training materials to support healthcare professionals when discussing research with patients and working to establish a national network of local JDR champions who will build on relationships with local organisations, charities and local groups representing under-represented communities to engage people with JDR.

NHS Resolution: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS Resolution spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Will Quince: NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the NHS in England. All staff who join NHSR undertake mandatory and statutory training in order to meet the legal obligations, set out in the Equality Act 2010. NHSR facilitate equality, diversity and inclusion training using an NHS England e-learning module called ‘e-learning for healthcare’. This module is available at no cost to NHSR. All staff complete this training once every three years.

NHS Pay Review Body: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS Pay Review Body spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Will Quince: The NHS Pay Review Body recorded no expenditure on equality and diversity training in 2022/23.

NHS Business Services Authority: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS Business Services Authority spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Will Quince: NHS Business Services Authority spent £1900 on equality and diversity training in the 2022/23 financial year.

Independent Reconfiguration Panel: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Independent Reconfiguration Panel spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Will Quince: The Independent Reconfiguration Panel has not spent any funds on equality and diversity training in 2022/23.

Health Research Authority: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Health Research Authority spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Will Quince: The Health Research Authority (HRA) has had no expenditure on Equality and Diversity Training in the 2022/23 financial year. All HRA staff, however, are required to complete a mandatory training course on Equality and Diversity every three years which is an online compliance module via the HRA Electronic Record. HRA staff also have regular opportunities to have their voices heard, through ‘Staff Voices’ representatives and EDI staff-led interest groups.

Commission on Human Medicines: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Commission on Human Medicines spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Will Quince: No remuneration was spent on bespoke equality and diversity training for the Commission on Human Medicines in the 2022/23 financial year.

British Pharmacopoeia Commission: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the British Pharmacopoeia Commission spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Will Quince: The British Pharmacopoeia Commission did not spend any funds on bespoke equality and diversity training in 2022/23.

Epilepsy

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including policies on epilepsy in the the Major Conditions Strategy.

Will Quince: The Major Conditions Strategy will cover cancers, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal conditions as these are the six groups of conditions that contribute the most to mortality and morbidity. We expect the approach to tackling these conditions as set out in the report, Major conditions Strategy: a case for change and our strategic framework may have a positive impact on patients with other conditions, including epilepsy.

Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to refer the Impact Assessment for the 2023 statutory scheme to control the cost of branded health services medicines to the Regulatory Policy Committee.

Will Quince: There are no plans to refer the statutory scheme Impact Assessment to the Regulatory Policy Committee. The proposals only impact companies which choose to sell to the National Health Service and are therefore considered to be in connection with procurement. Given this, the statutory exclusion from the Better Regulation Framework “Procurement 22(4)(b)” applies as confirmed previously by the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat at Cabinet Office.

Ministry of Defence

Veterans: Radiation Exposure

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will release from the Atomic Weapons Establishment archives to the National Archives the documents entitled (a) Medical Report - blood count data 29/12/1953, (b) Test Veterans Fax Files 27/11/2002 and (c) Report on medical examination of natives at Coober Pedy 6/4/1960.

Dr Andrew Murrison: There are no current plans to release the documents to the National Archives. Information held by public authorities is subject to the FOI Act 2000 and guidance provided by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Armed Forces: HIV Infection

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2023 to Question HL8900, on Armed Forces: HIV Infection, what the evidential basis is for precluding individuals with HIV from serving in Aircrew and Controller roles.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Defence Aviation Medicine specialists completed a comprehensive, evidenced based review on HIV, its impact, prognosis, and treatment. Recent policy changes in civil aviation were considered in the formulation of the policy regarding HIV and the Aircrew profession, which was endorsed by a tri-Service committee comprised of medical specialists. The Chief Medical Officer of the Civil Aviation Authority and the Senior Medical Officer of the National Air Traffic Control Service are members of this committee to ensure appropriate benchmarking of military aviation medicine policy against civilian standards. The policy, which was accepted and endorsed by aviation medical professionals and duty risk holders, is aligned with extant and long-standing aviation risk parameters.

Destroyers and Frigates

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the operational status of each of the Royal Navy's frigates and destroyers is by name of ship.

James Heappey: All Royal Navy (RN) ships rotate through planned operating cycles involving maintenance, repair, training, deployment, leave and upgrades. This results in individual ships being at various levels of readiness at any one time in accordance with the long-term operating schedule and operational needs; they remain in service during these periods. It is our policy to not disclose the readiness state of individual ships as this would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff at the (a) Army Foundation College, (b) Infantry Training Centre and (c) Army Training Centre have been (i) prosecuted and (ii) found guilty of (A) sexual offences against recruits and (B) other offences related to the treatment of recruits.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I will write to the hon. Member once MOD officials have had an opportunity to collate the information . A copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Army Foundation College

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the annual cost to the public purse of running the Army Foundation College.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The annual cost of running the Army Foundation College (Harrogate) is £85.5 million.

Navy: Greenwich Hospital

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2023 to Question 199706 on Navy: Greenwich Hospital, whether he holds Ministerial responsibility for (a) safeguarding and (b) other matters relating to the provision of education at the Royal Hospital School.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Secretary of State for Defence is responsible for safeguarding and other matters relating to the provision of education at the Royal Hospital School. He does not act in his capacity as Secretary of State, or for the benefit of the Ministry of Defence or His Majesty’s Government, but as a representative of the Crown for the charitable purposes of Greenwich Hospital, including the Royal Hospital School. The Secretary of State is accountable to Parliament for these matters.

Armed Forces: Private Rented Housing

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's Written Statement of 19 September 2023 on New Accommodation Offer, HCWS1053, whether allowances for private accommodation will vary by region.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 19 September 2023 on New Accommodation Offer, HCWS1053, how he plans to use the existing defence accommodation estate.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The New Accommodation Offer is designed to meet the requirements of our Service personnel whilst maximising the use of the available existing Defence accommodation estate. Service accommodation at Defence sites will be utilised first before personnel are placed in the private rental sector to ensure best value for money. The Defence Command Paper Refresh, published in July, announced an additional £400 million funding over two years for programmes to address damp and mould and to carry out refurbishment works to homes that we expect to be required as the New Accommodation Offer increases the number of Service personnel entitled to Service Families Accommodation. The financial support for Service personnel who, under the New Accommodation Offer, are asked to source private rental accommodation, will be varied according to the location where they are assigned.

Navy: Greenwich Hospital

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2023 to Question 199705 on Navy: Greenwich Hospital, how many times his predecessor meet any Director of Greenwich Hospital.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The former Secretary of State did not have the opportunity to meet any Director of Greenwich Hospital before he stepped down.

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Quinquennial Review 2023, published on 17 July 2023.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Department is considering the recommendations in full, and the Government's response will be published later this year.

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average time taken to resolve an appeal is in the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme; and what steps he is taking to reduce that time.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The average (median) clearance time for AFCS appeals is published in Table 9 of the annual Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Statistics.The latest release was published on 6 July 2023 and can be found at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/armed-forces-compensation-scheme-statistics-financial-year-20222To better support claimants and reduce timelines that are within Miistry of Defence control, resource is flexed across teams supporting veterans' services to target priority areas wherever possible. Additional resource is also being onboarded along with continuous review and improvement to processes. Overtime is being utilised where required.

Veterans: Identity Cards

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for full rollout of ID cards for veterans; and what assessment he has made of the merits of veterans having such cards (a) in Scotland and (b) across the UK.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Veterans' Recognition Scheme has a two-phase rollout. Phase 1 is complete; with all Service leavers since December 2018 automatically receiving a HM Armed Forces Veteran Card as part of their discharge process. As of July 2023, there have been over 71,000 Veteran Cards issued as part of Phase 1. Phase 2 will extend access to the recognition card scheme to those who left before December 2018. Continued progress has been made towards the launch of a new digital verification service to enable all veterans to apply for the card.With around two million veterans in the UK, we are focused on building the technology and processes to deal with large volumes of card applications accurately and securely. As production increases into next year, the Ministry of Defence will have the capacity to produce up to 50,000 cards per month and the number of cards issued will depend on demand.

Type 23 Frigates and Type 26 Frigates

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) end of service year for each Type 23 frigate and (b) in service year for each Type 26 frigate due to replace those frigates is.

James Cartlidge: On current plans, the last Type 23 frigate will transition out of service in 2035 and eight Type 26 and five Type 31 Frigates are expected to begin being brought into service in the early 2030s. To avoid compromising operational security, the Ministry of Defence does not routinely disclose individual out of service dates or specific in-service dates for warships to avoid revealing elements of the Fleet's long-term schedule. However, the Royal Navy continues to ensure that it has sufficient assets available to deliver operational outputs.

Challenger Tanks: Engines

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many complete Challenger 2 power packs are (a) in active use and (b) in storage as of 17 October 2023.

James Cartlidge: I am withholding the number of Challenger 2 power packs held, both in active use and in storage as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Defence Equipment: Procurement

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent (a) inflation and (b) interest rates on his Department's plan to develop a £242 billion 10-year equipment plan for the Armed Forces, as announced in The defence equipment plan 2022 to 2032, published in November 2022.

James Cartlidge: The figures in the Ministry of Defence Equipment Plan 2022-2032 are based on the financial position at the end of March 2022. The latest figures for the financial year ending March 2023, which include the impact of inflation and interest rates, are currently being prepared by the Department and will be published in December.

Chinook Helicopters: Procurement

Mr Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost growth is of the CH47(ER) since approval by his Department's Investment Approvals Committee.

Mr Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the assessed spiral development costs and upgrades for the CH47(ER) are.

James Cartlidge: The Department acknowledge and are working to resolve H47(ER) cost growth. The updated programme costs and schedule, including Spiral Development, will be considered by the Ministry of Defence Investment Approvals Committee upon conclusion of this work and, until this has taken place, it would not be appropriate to disclose the figures.

HMS Westminster

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the projected out of service date for HMS Westminster is.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his Department policy to take steps to modernise HMS Westminster.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2023 to Question 197345, when HMS Westminster's modernisation works will be completed.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the earliest date is that HMS Westminster will be ready for deployment following modernisation works.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to retire HMS Westminster from Royal Navy Service within the next 12 months.

James Cartlidge: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 7 September 2023 to Question 197345.HMS Westminster (docx, 14.8KB)

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of prisoners housed in England were offenders with a fixed home address in Wales in (a) September 2023 and (b) each of the last three years.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of prisoners housed in Wales were offenders with a fixed home address in England in (a) September 2023 and (b) each of the last three years.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders with a fixed home address in Wales were housed in prisons in England in (a) September 2023 and (b) each of the last three years, by prison.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of offenders with a fixed home address in Wales were housed in English prisons during (a) September 2023, and (b) each of the last three years per prison.

Damian Hinds: Please see the tables attached. Please note that where a given number is 5 or fewer, it has been redacted to prevent the release information that could possibly to lead to identification of the individuals concerned. It is not possible to infer from an address in Wales that an individual considers themselves Welsh/English. HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) cannot identify English and Welsh prisoners. Someone with an address, for example in London, may consider themselves to be Welsh, while someone with an address in Wales may not. UK nationals have a nationality of British. Therefore the data shown are not necessarily representative of those who identify as English or Welsh. The results are sorted by origin address (home address on reception into custody) and not nationality. English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish are not captured on our database as separate nationalities. HMPPS is committed to ensuring, where practicable and appropriate, that prisoners are accommodated as close as possible to their resettlement communities and families. Whilst this is a priority, it is not always possible due to a variety of factors including wider population pressures, or where prisoners have specific sentence planning needs which can only be met at certain establishments.Table (xlsx, 23.3KB)

Community Orders: Pilot Schemes

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the management information bulletin on the Community Payback Rapid Deployment project pilots published by his Department on 24 August 2023, how many people completed unpaid work under the pilots between 19 July and 17 October 2023; and how many hours of unpaid work were completed.

Damian Hinds: A revised bulletin is currently being produced and will available before the end of this month which will provide the data requested in this Parliamentary Question.

Sexual Offences

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the list of subjects defined as positions of trust in Section 22A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: We remain fully committed to protecting children and young people from sexual abuse and continue to keep the law under review. In 2019-20 the Government carried out a review of “positions of trust” offences in the Sexual Offences Act 2003, following which we made the decision to extend the offences to capture those who regularly provide, coaching, teaching, training, supervising or instructing in a sport or a religion. Provisions to extend these offences, in the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, also created a power to allow additional positions of trust to be added via secondary legislation should it prove necessary to do so. These reforms commenced in June 2022 so have only been in force for a little over a year. Before considering further reforms, we want to be assured that the 2022 changes are bedded in and are working effectively. My officials work closely with stakeholders and operational partners to ensure that the existing offences are being used effectively to tackle this behaviour, and that those working with young people understand their responsibilities and act appropriately.

Prison Sentences: Appeals

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of defendants had their sentence increased after appealing the (a) sentence and (b) conviction they received from the magistrates’ court to the Crown Court in each of the last five years.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of appeals against magistrates’ decisions dealt with in the Crown Court: Criminal court statistics quarterly: April to June 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).However, data linking the Crown Court appeal case to the initial magistrates’ case is not held centrally. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

Community Orders: Pilot Schemes

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department spent on (a) administering the Community Payback Rapid Deployment project pilots between 19 July and 17 October 2023, and (b) ensuring the effective oversight of work completed under the pilots.

Damian Hinds: The Department spend on administering the Community Payback Rapid Deployment projects between 19 July and 17 October 2023 and the effective oversight of work completed under these pilots has not incurred any additional spending. The pilots have been set up, managed and overseen using existing staff resource within the existing Community Payback business as usual budgets. No other funding has been used to deliver Community Payback Rapid Deployment pilots.

Home Office

Home Office: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much their Department spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-2023 financial year.

Chris Philp: On 2 October, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a value for money audit of all EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) spending in the Civil Service.The audit will dovetail with the public sector productivity review, aiming at delivering a leaner, more efficient government. The audit forms part of our drive to improve productivity across the public sector by driving down waste and improving performance.The findings and actions of the audit will be announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn.

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Animals in Science Committee spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the College of Policing spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Commission for Countering Extremism spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Disclosure and Barring Service spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Forensic Science Regulator spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Independent Anti-slavery Commissioner spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Independent Family Returns Panel spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Independent Office for Police Conduct spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Investigatory Powers Tribunal spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Migration Advisory Committee spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the National Crime Agency Remuneration Review Body spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Office for Communications Data Authorisations spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Police Discipline Appeals Tribunal spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Police Remuneration Review Body spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Security Industry Authority spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Technical Advisory Board spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Chris Philp: On 2 October, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a value for money audit of all EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) spending in the Civil Service.The audit will dovetail with the public sector productivity review, aiming at delivering a leaner, more efficient government. The audit forms part of our drive to improve productivity across the public sector by driving down waste and improving performance. The findings and actions of the audit will be announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn.

Young Offenders: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will hold discussions with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on tackling physical abuse between people under the age of 18 in Northern Ireland.

Miss Sarah Dines: Policing, including the response to physical abuse, is a delegated matter for consideration by the Northern Ireland Executive. We are open to discussions with the Police Service of Northern Ireland to share knowledge on tackling physical abuse amongst young people.

MI5: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Security Service spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Tom Tugendhat: On 2 October, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a value for money audit of all EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) spending in the Civil Service.The audit will dovetail with the public sector productivity review, aiming at delivering a leaner, more efficient government. The audit forms part of our drive to improve productivity acrossthe public sector by driving down waste and improving performance.The findings and actions of the audit will be announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn.

Asylum: Children

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied children are being housed in arranged hotel accommodation as of September 2023; and if she will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: Under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a legal obligation to support asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.The high number of UASC arrivals, particularly as a result of small boat crossings, has placed unprecedented pressure on the National Transfer Scheme. Out of necessity we accommodated UASC on an emergency and temporary basis in hotels while placements with local authorities have been vigorously pursued. The Home Office have put in place further funding throughout 2023-24 of £6,000 for every unaccompanied child moved from a UASC hotel to a local authority within five working days to encourage quicker transfers into local authority care.We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in emergency interim hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.All local authorities are under a mandatory duty to comply with the National Transfer Scheme and significant work is underway to support them in fulfilling their statutory duty to accommodate unaccompanied children nationwide.

Overseas Students: Afghanistan

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting refugee status to the female medical students who are represented by the Linda Norgrove Foundation.

Robert Jenrick: As has been the practice under successive Governments the Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.We remain committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan and so far have brought around 24,600 people impacted by the situation back to the UK.We continue to work with likeminded partners and countries neighbouring Afghanistan on resettlement issues, and to support safe passage for eligible Afghans. We also continue to welcome individuals to the UK through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).

Asylum: Women

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that female asylum seekers do not fall victim to modern slavery.

Robert Jenrick: All asylum seekers have an interview on arrival in the UK which includes a series of questions designed to understand whether there are any potential indicators of trafficking and to identify any vulnerabilities.If there are any indicators present that a person is at potential risk of modern slavery a referral is made to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The Single Competent Authority (SCA) will make a decision on this referral.We take the wellbeing of asylum seekers seriously. Robust safeguarding procedures are in place to ensure all asylum seekers are safe and supported.

Asylum: Bibby Stockholm

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to allow asylum seekers housed in the Bibby Stockholm barge to enter and leave during the day and night.

Robert Jenrick: Those accommodated aboard the vessel are not detained and are free to come and go.

Development Aid: Asylum

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report by the ONE Campaign entitled Getting a grip: How the Home Office should improve refugee and asylum seeker welfare and protect UK aid, published on 29 September 2023, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendations of that report.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office is tackling the asylum legacy caseload so that people can receive a decision and exit the system, either by returning to their home country, or granting them asylum so they can begin to make a contribution to the UK. We have already met our commitment to increase the number of decision makers to 2,500. We will continue to increase the number of caseworkers to help clear the asylum backlog by the end of 2023. We are on track to clear the legacy backlog by the end of the year.We are also improving the productivity, volumes, and speed of decision making so that people spend less time in asylum accommodation. We are streamlining and modernising the end-to-end process, with improved guidance, more focused and fewer interviews, enhancing use of digital technology, and we are introducing a more efficient approach to how claims are handled by decision makers. The aim is to clear initial asylum decisions relating to claims made before 28 June 2022, when the Nationality and Borders Act measures came into force, by the end of 2023.The Home Office is committed to making every effort to reduce hotel use and limit the burden on the taxpayer. This is why we are delivering a range of alternative accommodation sites, maximising hotel space, operationalising the Illegal Migration Act and continuing our hard work to clear the asylum backlog by the end of the year.In line with our response to the ICAI review, FCDO published the updated UK In-Donor Refugee Costs methodology report alongside our latest Statistics on International Development.The full methodology report can be found here. Section 3 sets our the fit for purpose assessment and current data limitations.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people who entered the UK illegally on a small boat were men aged between 18 and 40 in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes statistics on small boat arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ release. Data on small boat arrivals is published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, where the data can be broken down by year, sex and age group. The latest data goes up to the end of June 2023.Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data up to the end of September 2023 will be published on 23 November 2023.

Detainees: Children

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied child refugees have been held at detention centres for more than 24 hours since July 2023.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on immigration detention in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on people in detention and leaving detention by age group and length of detention are published in tables Det_D02 and Det_D03 of the ‘Immigration Detention detailed datasets’. The latest data covers the period up to the end of June 2023. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data up to the end of September 2023 will be released on 23 November 2023.Data on whether detainees are unaccompanied child refugees is not published. Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, as well as quality and availability of data.

Asylum: Republic of Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Departments holds on the number of asylum seekers who have arrived in the UK via the Republic of Ireland in each of the last three years.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications to the UK is published in table Asy_D01 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Please note, arrival information for asylum seekers (including the country they travelled from) is not routinely collected as part of the asylum application in a format that allows for large scale reporting. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the year ending June 2023. Data to September 2023 is due to be published on 23 November 2023. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Naturalisation: Applications

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of security checks for naturalisation applications have expired and required subsequent re-vetting in the last month for which data is available.

Robert Jenrick: The data is not available.

Naturalisation: Applications

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long has her Department's current longest-running naturalisation application taken so far to be processed as of October 2023.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases. Published data regarding naturalisation applications can be found via the Transparency Report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report) and the Migration statistics (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-march-2023).

Educational Testing Service: Compensation

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was paid to her Department by Educational Testing Service in compensation for shortcomings in administering its Test of English for International Communication between 2011 and 2014.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office does not have any published information on this matter.

Educational Testing Service

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help support students who were falsely accused by Educational Testing Service of cheating in its Test of English for International Communication; and if she will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: We believe that the changes the Department has made since 2019 have already brought significant redress and we have been able to grant leave to many who might have otherwise been refused.In view of this, we believe there are at present sufficient measures in place for individuals affected by ETS: TOEIC fraud, including obtaining the voice recording of their TOEIC test from ETS. We also believe, in light of the Upper Tribunal’s findings in DK and RK reference [2022] UKUT 00112. 23214, this is the fairest and most objective way in which an individual can challenge the allegation before them.

Visas: Married People

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will consult child psychologists on the potential health impact of increasing spouse visa fees on affected children.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has aways provided exceptions to the need to pay application fees in a number of specific circumstances. These include affordability-based waivers for entry clearance and leave to remain on family and human rights grounds. These provisions ensure that the Home Office’s immigration and nationality fee structure complies with international obligations and wider Government policy, and we believe represents the right balance between protecting the integrity of the department’s funding model while helping to facilitate access to immigration and nationality products and services, including for the most vulnerable.The Home Office published an Equalities Impact Assessment alongside the Regulations that increased immigration and nationality fees in October 2023. This included an assessment of the proposals in line with the Secretary of State’s duty under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.There are currently no plans to consult on fee levels.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of people entering the UK illegally by boat.

Robert Jenrick: We have developed a comprehensive ten-point plan to stop the boats and we are focused on delivering it. So far, small boats are down by more than a fifth compared to last year.

Asylum: Applications

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the average processing time for asylum claims.

Robert Jenrick: We have taken immediate action to speed up asylum processing whilst maintaining the integrity of the system. This includes simplifying guidance and streamlining processes and introducing shorter, focussed interviews, making the interview process more efficient and driving productivity improvements.We have met our commitment to increase the number of asylum caseworkers to 2,500. As of the end of August 2023, provisional data shows that there are 2,510 decision makers in post. This is more than double the number of asylum caseworkers a year ago in August 2022 and an increase of over 1,200 since December 2022. We remain on track to clear the legacy asylum backlog by the end of 2023.

Educational Visits: France

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the UK-France Joint Leaders Declaration, agreed on 10 March 2023, when her Department plans to publish the timeline for implementing changes to documentary requirements for school children on organised trips from France.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper entitled UK-France Joint Leaders' Declaration: 10 March 2023, and pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2023 to Question 191049 on Educational Visits: France, when the Government plans to (a) conclude its work on the details of implementation and (b) publish that information.

Robert Jenrick: At the Leaders’ Summit in Paris on 10 March 2023 the UK committed to ease the travel of school groups to the UK by making changes to documentary requirements for schoolchildren on organised trips from France.France and the UK further agreed to establish a Mobility Dialogue through a Technical Working Group under joint ministerial oversight to address bilateral mobility issues. The first of these was held in early June.Work is now underway to operationalise these arrangements and more information will be provided in due course.

Mistreatment of Detainees at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre Inquiry

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to respond to the final report of the Brook House Inquiry.

Robert Jenrick: The Government will carefully consider the findings of the Brook House Inquiry in its detailed report, including the recommendations in relation to the management of the immigration detention estate and the welfare of detained individuals.

Immigration

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of automatically granting citizenship to the parents of children under 18 who are British nationals, in the context of article 9 of the UN convention on the rights of the child.

Robert Jenrick: The current nationality law, the British Nationality Act 1981, defines who is a British citizen. British nationality can be acquired through birth, descent, registration, and naturalisation (subject to fulfilling relevant statutory requirements). There is no power in law to grant British citizenship outside of the statutory provisions of the BNA 1981.The Act reflects the principle that citizenship should be acquired on the basis of a close and continuing connection with the UK. Parents of British children can apply to naturalise if they wish to and meet the requirements which are designed to test the strength of the applicant’s connections with this country.There are no plans to amend the law in this respect.

Asylum: Newbury

Laura Farris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people granted refugee status in Newbury constituency were given seven days' notice to leave their asylum accommodation in each of the last three years; and whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the notice period of such changes a person granted refugee status is given.

Robert Jenrick: The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets), under the document Asylum seekers in receipt of support (second edition). Data sets are published on a quarterly basis, the latest quarterly figures were released on 24 August 2023. Under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, asylum seekers are provided with housing and basic living expenses whilst the outcome of their claim is determined. This is known as Section 95 support. When an asylum seeker’s claim has been successful, then they will be notified in writing that their Section 95 support will cease in 28 days. If their claim has been unsuccessful, they will be notified in writing that their Section 95 support will cease in 21 days. There is no legislative power to provide such asylum support beyond the 21- or 28-day prescribed periods and there are no plans to change this period. We encourage individuals to make their onward plans as soon as possible after receiving their decision, whether that is leaving the UK following a refusal, or taking steps to integrate in the UK following a grant. We also offer support to newly recognised refugees during the 28-day ‘move-on’ period, through Migrant Help or their partner organisations. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), providing advice on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. This will ensure that people can move on following a decision on their claim. Furthermore, all individuals are also given 7 days clear notice to quit to align to the end of the 28/21 day period from the accommodation provider.

Overseas Students: Afghanistan

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is working with the Linda Norgrove Foundation to enable Afghan medical students to study in the UK.

Robert Jenrick: As has been the practice under successive Governments the Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.We remain committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan and so far have brought around 24,600 people impacted by the situation back to the UK.We continue to work with likeminded partners and countries neighbouring Afghanistan on resettlement issues, and to support safe passage for eligible Afghans. We also continue to welcome individuals to the UK through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).

Refugees: Ukraine

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing (a) visa extensions and (b) settlement routes for Ukrainian nationals who reach the end of the temporary leave granted through schemes established following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Robert Jenrick: In line with the situation in Ukraine, working closely with the Ukrainian Government, as well as our international counterparts, we keep the need for a possible extension of UK sanctuary, beyond March 2025, under consistent review.The UK Government stands with Ukraine and firmly believe that Ukraine will be safe again. When it’s safe to do so, Ukraine will need the repatriation of its citizens to help recover and rebuild their economy and infrastructure. Our approach therefore has been to provide 36 months sanctuary under our Ukraine visas, which are temporary and do not lead to settlement. This 36 month period is longer than any other European scheme.We are however also mindful that permission will start to expire, for the first arrivals under our Ukrainian schemes, from March 2025, and their need for certainty beyond that point to help them to plan ahead, for example if remaining in the UK, entering into rental agreements and living here independently. The scheme is actively under review across government.

Horticulture: Seasonal Workers

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors: sponsor a seasonal worker, published in April 2023, which body is responsible for monitoring whether workers on the horticultural seasonal workers visa are paid for at least 32 hours of work a week at least the national living wage; what enforcement mechanisms are in place in the event that workers are not paid 32 hours a week; and what enforcement has taken place since that guidance was published.

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors: sponsor a seasonal worker, published in April 2023, what (a) monitoring and (b) enforcement is in place to ensure that (i) piece rate targets set to workers on the horticultural seasonal worker visa scheme are reasonable and (ii) workers are (A) treated fairly by their employer and (B) not penalised for failing to work at the fair piece rate.

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) enforce working conditions for workers employed via the horticultural seasonal worker scheme and help ensure workers (i) have enough breaks and (ii) are not required to work excessive hours at the end of their pay period in order to achieve their minimum number of paid hours.

Robert Jenrick: UKVI have implemented a specific seasonal workers team as recommended by the 2022 ICIBI report. They have interviewed an extensive number of migrant workers this year and requested evidence of pay rates from the scheme operators. These visits, often undertaken with GLAA, seek evidence of salary paid to ensure requirements are met. Any breach of Sponsor guidance identified is dealt with as per published Sponsor Guidance.As such, UKVI can take action against a Sponsor licence when it is identified workers are being incorrectly paid or there is a failure to comply with employment law.UKVI have inspected and assured the complaints procedures put in place by the operators for workers to report treatment and conditions on farms.Regular engagement with the licensed scheme operators is in place and UKVI assure that the operators monitor conditions on farms.

Educational Testing Service

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Educational Testing Service will be permitted to tender to provide the Secure English Language Test.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office will follow the ‘Government Commercial Function: Standards on GOV.UK’ which define how all Government Departments should operate commercially to ensure strong commercial behaviours and delivering Value For Money (VFM). Non-compliance risks breaching ‘Managing Public Money (GOV.UK)’ guidelines that means the Accounting Officer cannot be assured of VFM. It could also be unlawful if actions do not comply with the laws relating to the procurement of public contracts. The primary laws in relation to the award of public contracts are the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) on legislation.gov.uk where we are required to treat all suppliers equally and without discrimination and shall act in a transparent and proportionate manner.This opportunity would be advertised in the usual manner and any interested party should register interest via Find a Tender service Find a Tender (find-tender.service.gov.uk)

Undocumented Migrants: Aviation

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of inadequately documented arrivals by air.

Robert Jenrick: The Government’s number one priority is keeping the UK safe. As such, the UK is launching an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme to further strengthen the security of our border.The ETA scheme will close the current gap in advance permissions for non-visa national visitors to the UK and enhance the Government’s ability to screen such travellers and prevent the travel of those who pose a threat to the UK, making the UK safer.Under the Carriers Liability scheme, carriers already have responsibilities to ensure their passengers are properly documented for travel to the UK and may be subject to charges if they allow them to travel without the correct documentation. Details of the scheme are published on gov.uk.To assist carriers, the Home Office issues core guidance regarding the necessary check’s carriers are expected to undertake. The Home Office regularly train carriers and their handling agents in the UK and overseas, in documentary requirements and detection techniques. The Home Office publishes alerts to highlight any new trends or arising issues and provides a 24-hour carrier call service to advise carriers on specific documentation concerns.Home Office teams overseas work closely with UK based colleagues who analyse travel data. Where high risk passengers are identified, teams engage with airlines to ensure that the individual is entitled to travel on the documentation held. Overseas teams are located around the globe, and the focus of their activities is kept under constant review.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress the Government has made on resettling 20,000 people from Afghanistan since January 2022.

Robert Jenrick: Quarterly data on resettlement arrivals may be viewed within the latest Immigration system statistics, year ending June 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (published on 24 August 2023). The latest published statistics show that both the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) have resettled a total of 21,526 people since the schemes began to operate.

Fire Services: Pay

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate her Department has made of gender-based pay inequality among firefighters in England.

Chris Philp: The Home Office does not hold this information centrally. The Equality Act 2010 gives women and men a right to equal pay for equal work.Setting firefighter pay is the responsibility of employers, working through the National Joint Council. The Home Office plays no role in the negotiation or funding of firefighter pay.

Terrorism

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the UK's national threat level following the recent (a) Hamas terrorist attack in Israel and (b) Israeli military operations in Gaza.

Tom Tugendhat: The UK National Threat Level remains at Substantial meaning an attack is likely and will continue to be reviewed to ensure it accurately reflects the threat of a terrorist attack in the UK.Considerations have and continue to be made in light of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Public Spaces Protection Orders

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding public spaces protection orders to all public places as defined by her Department.

Chris Philp: The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB). We know the serious impact that persistent ASB can have on both individuals and the wider community.We provided the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.It is for local areas to decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances. They are best placed to understand what is driving the behaviour in question, the impact that it is having, and to determine the most appropriate response.

Home Office: Standards

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September to Question 196211 on Home Office: Standards, what the cost to the public purse was of the (a) commissioning, (b) expenses and (c) office costs relating to Nick Timothy's review of the effectiveness of her Department.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September to Question 196211 on Home Office: Standards, how much and what proportion of civil servant time was allocated to support Nick Timothy's review of the effectiveness of her Department.

Chris Philp: Nick Timothy was appointed as an Independent Consultant working directly to the Home Secretary.At the end of his tenure, he provided a report for the Home Secretary to consider in a private capacity, to ensure the Home Secretary is served effectively, and that the Department is set up to succeed. This was a non-remunerated role.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Deductions

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of universal credit claims were subject to deductions in the most recent month for which data is available per constituency; what was the (a) average and (b) total sum of deduction per constituency; what proportion of deductions were used to repay advance payments; and if he will make a statement.

Guy Opperman: The Government recognises the importance of supporting the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. We seek to balance recovery of debt against not causing hardship for claimants and their families. Processes are in place to ensure deductions are manageable, and customers can contact the DWP Debt Management Team if they are experiencing financial hardship, to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment, or a temporary suspension, depending on their financial circumstances.Since April 2021, we have reduced the normal maximum rate of deductions in Universal Credit from 40% to 25% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance. These positive measures were put in place to support claimants to manage financial difficulties.Advances are a claimant’s benefit entitlement paid early, allowing claimants to access 100% of their estimated Universal Credit payment upfront. They ensure nobody has to wait for a payment in Universal Credit, and those who need it are able to receive financial support as soon as possible. Claimants can receive up to 100% of their estimated Universal Credit award if required, resulting in 25 payments over a 24-month period. This is not a debt.The requested analysis of Universal Credit claims with a deduction in May 2023 by parliamentary constituency in Great Britain (GB) is provided in the separate spreadsheet.Data for May 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available Universal Credit Household Statistics.203044 data table (xlsx, 63.0KB)

Redundancy

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support people who have been made redundant to (a) access training and skills support and (b) find suitable alternative employment in (i) Coventry North East constituency, (ii) Coventry, (iii) the West Midlands and (iv) England.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Work and Pensions stands ready to support anyone affected by redundancy with our Rapid Response Service offer. This is a service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy. This service is co-ordinated nationally by the National Employer and Partnership Team and is managed by Jobcentre Plus. Delivery partners include The National Careers Service, local training providers, Money Helper and the skills bodies in England. The Rapid Response Service offer is flexible and can include a range of options (see below) that can be pulled together into an appropriate support package. This package will be tailored to meet the needs of the employer, the individuals affected and the local community. The range of support available from Jobcentre Plus and partners may include: Connecting people to jobs in the labour market.Help with job search including CV writing, interview skills, where to find jobs and how to apply for them.Help to identify transferable skills and skills gaps (linked to the local labour market).What benefits they may get and how to claim.

Universal Credit: Greater London

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Universal Credit claimants have an advance attached to their claim during the wait for their first payment (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London by claimant age group as of 18 September 2023.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is not available for this period.

Universal Credit: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Romford constituency and (b) the London Borough of Havering receive Universal Credit as of 19 September 2023.

Guy Opperman: The latest statistics are available on Stat-Xplore. You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of benefit claims were subject to sanctions in the last three months for which data is available per constituency; and how much was the (a) total and (b) average sum of benefit income lost by claimants due to sanctions in each constituency in that period.

Guy Opperman: Sanctions are only ever applied when a claimant fails to meet their agreed conditionality requirements without good reason. Statistics are published regularly showing the number of Universal Credit full service claimants with a payment that has been reduced due to a sanction. These can be found in the UC sanction rates dataset on Stat-Xplore and are available by Westminster parliamentary constituency, monthly from April 2019 to May 2023 The additional information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Universal Credit claimants have an advance attached to their claim during the five-week wait for their first payment in (a) Lewisham East constituency, (b) England and (c) the UK as of 18 September 2023 by claimant age group.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is not available for this period.

Members: Correspondence

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to respond to the correspondence of 19 July 2023, reference JK41078, from the hon. Member for Solihull.

Mims Davies: When DWP receive correspondence relating to a complaint from a Member of Parliament, they aim to fully resolve or agree a resolution within 15 working days of receipt. Complex issues may take longer to resolve The correspondence referenced was received from the MP on 19 July 2023. On 25 July, the complaint resolution manager contacted the customer to discuss their complaint. During the call, the customer asked CMG to audit her child maintenance account to confirm the arrears owed to her are correct. On 25 July, CMG wrote to the MP’s office confirming they would be unable to provide a full response within 15 days as actions were being progressed. On 2 August, CMG started to audit the customer’s account. This is a complex piece of work, and it can take several weeks to complete, depending on the complexity of the case. The MP contacted CMG on 31 August, 19 September and 16 October asking for a full response to be provided. On each occasion, CMG contacted the MP’s office by email, explaining their investigations were ongoing and a full response would be provided once their investigations were concluded. On 18 October, CMG contacted the MP’s office and confirmed a full response to the MP would be provided by Friday 20 October. I can confirm the response was issued to the MP’s office on Thursday 19 October.

Local Housing Allowance

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the impact of the freeze on Local Housing Allowance since April 2020 on the discretionary income of claimants of the housing element of Universal Credit.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of local housing allowance rates.

Mims Davies: The department works closely with stakeholders, jobcentres and local authorities to understand the impact of its policies. The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) policy is kept under regular review and rates are reviewed annually by the Secretary of State. LHA determines the maximum housing support for tenants claiming the housing element of Universal Credit in the private rented sector. It ensures that claimants in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. In 2020 we spent almost £1 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of market rents. This significant investment has been maintained ensuring that everyone who benefited continues to do so. Over 2022/23 and 2023/24 the Government is providing support in excess of £94 billion to help households with the rising cost of living. The 30th percentile levels of local market weekly rents for the Tyneside Broad Rental Market Area for each year from 2020 can be found here. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) publish 30th percentile rental data alongside weekly LHA rates. This is not available as a monthly equivalent for Universal Credit.

Local Housing Allowance: Newcastle Upon Tyne

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of what the income would be for a claimant who is eligible for the housing element of Universal Credit in the event that the Local Housing Allowance had increased in line with local rents for each year since 2020 in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Mims Davies: A claimant’s income will vary according to their individual circumstances. Therefore, an assessment of a claimant’s income which could include wages and other benefits cannot be estimated without incurring disproportionate costs and would not be representative of all Local Housing Allowance (LHA) claimants. The 30th percentile levels of local market weekly rents for the Tyneside Broad Rental Market Area for each year from 2020 can be found here. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) publish 30th percentile rental data alongside weekly LHA rates. This is not available as a monthly equivalent for Universal Credit.

Personal Independence Payment: Multiple Sclerosis

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that PIP assessors take into account the hidden symptoms of multiple sclerosis when making their assessments; and what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the PIP assessment process on the mental health of people with multiple sclerosis.

Tom Pursglove: Assessments for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are carried out by qualified health professionals (HPs), who receive training in assessing the impacts of a variety of disabilities including multiple sclerosis (MS), to ensure they are familiar with the clinical aspects of the conditions and their impact on daily functions. HPs have access to Condition Insight Reports (CIRs) which are developed specifically to enable them to gain further insight into clinical and functional information, relating to specific conditions. Both Capita and Independent Assessment Services (IAS), who conduct PIP assessments on behalf of the department, hold CIRs on MS, which have been produced for them by representative groups. DWP recognises that attending an assessment can be a stressful experience, which is why claimants are not invited to attend a face-to-face, telephone or video assessment where there is sufficient paper evidence to determine benefit entitlement. Companions are also encouraged to attend and can play an active role in the assessment to support individuals or help them manage any anxiety they may feel.

Department for Education

Schools: Special Educational Needs

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a therapeutic whole school approach that integrates the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities with those of other children.

David Johnston: The department is determined to make sure that all children and young people receive the support they need to benefit from their education and progress to the next stage of their lives.The department published the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan in March 2023, which set out plans for a national SEND and AP system that offers every child and young person the opportunity to thrive, with access to the right support in the right place and at the right time, so that they can fulfil their potential and lead happy, healthy and productive adult lives.The department’s Improvement Plan is also committed to ensuring a more inclusive system that integrates provision for the needs of children and young people with SEND with provision that meets the needs of other children and young people. The Improvement Plan is clear about the department’s mission for more children and young people to have their needs met effectively in mainstream settings, alongside their friends and peers.The department wants to ensure that mainstream schools are supported to identify and meet a wide range of needs as early as possible. This will be helped by the introduction of new national standards. These national standards will clarify the types of support that should be ordinarily available to children and young people with SEND in mainstream settings, as well as clarifying who is responsible for securing the support.

Electronic Cigarettes: Health Hazards

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance includes a requirement for pupils to be taught about the risks associated with e-cigarettes and vapes.

Nick Gibb: On 1 June 2023, the Prime Minister announced steps to prevent pupils getting access to vapes illegally. As part of this, the Department is planning to include a specific reference to the harms of vaping in the amended Relationships, Sex and Health education (RSHE) curriculum.The RSHE statutory guidance, which sets out the curriculum topics, already states that in primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including smoking, alcohol use, and drug-taking. To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the Department published a suite of teacher training modules, including on drugs, alcohol and tobacco, which makes specific reference to e-cigarettes (vaping).In addition, the dangers of drugs, alcohol and tobacco are taught in compulsory health education. This supplements drug education which is part of the National Curriculum for science in Key Stages 2 and 3.Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises. This should be communicated to all pupils, parents and school staff.Schools have the autonomy to decide which items should be banned from their premises, and these can include vapes. Items banned by the school can be searched for as outlined in the department’s Searching, Screening and Confiscation guidance, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation.

Special Educational Needs

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the local authority decision-making process when deciding specialist placement for SEND children; and if she will make a statement.

David Johnston: Local authorities are responsible for deciding on the educational placement of a child or young person with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, following the statutory process set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, the department sets out the proposal to support parents and carers, or young people from the age of 16, to express an informed preference for a suitable placement, by requiring local authorities to provide a tailored list of settings that are appropriate to meet a child or young person’s needs. This would allow local authorities to give clear choices to families and better meet the needs of children and young people, while supporting the management of placements in a sustainable way.The department is testing an advisory tailored list in participating local authorities through the Change Programme, to gain feedback on the best way to support families as they chose a placement. During the Change Programme, participating families will receive clear information about which settings are able to meet the needs of their child, but there will be no change to the existing statutory framework and their existing rights will be unaffected.

Special Educational Needs: Appeals

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department are taking to reduce the number of EHCP applications going to appeal; and if she will make a statement.

David Johnston: Most Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan needs assessments and reviews are concluded without parents/carers appealing to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Tribunal. Nationally, in 2022, only 2.3% of all appealable decisions subsequently resulted in an appeal to the SEND Tribunal.However, the department knows that the system needs to work better for parents. In the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, the department set out ambitious plans to establish a single national system that delivers for every child and young person with SEND and in AP so that they enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes, and are well prepared for adulthood and employment.The department will give families greater confidence that their child will be able to fulfil their potential through improved mainstream provision in their local school through setting national standards for early and accurate identification of need, and timely access to support to meet those needs. The standards will include clarifying the types of support that should be ordinarily available in mainstream settings and who is responsible for securing the support.For those children and young people who require an EHC plan, the department will improve the quality of plans. We will also improve the experience of getting a plan by creating a standard national EHC plan template, backed by standardising the use of local multi-agency panels to provide local authorities with holistic advice from education, health and care partners on whether to proceed to full EHC Plan assessment. The department also plans to digitise EHC plans, to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy in the system. In combination, this will deliver a more nationally consistent EHC plan system, and help restore parental confidence.Where there are disputes, the department has committed to explore, test, and evaluate approaches for strengthening mediation between parents/carers and local authorities to help resolve disputes earlier before cases go to Tribunal.The department continues to provide support and challenge to individual local authorities, through our team of professional SEND advisers, and are looking to include data on appeals as part of national and local inclusion dashboards to support the monitoring of performance across areas and drive improvements.Taken together, our proposals should help meet the needs of children and young people sooner and reduce the number of EHC Plan applications going to appeal.

Free School Meals

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 April 2023 to Question 181305 on Free School Meals, what guidance her Department has provided to local authorities on ensuring that eligible pupils (a) on school premises and (b) at any other place where education is being provided are in receipt of free school meals.

Nick Gibb: The Education Act 1996 places a duty on maintained schools and academies to provide nutritious free meals to pupils who meet the eligibility criteria, including being a registered pupil of a state funded school.Free School Meal (FSM) provision should be made to eligible pupils either on the school premises or at any other place where education is being provided.The Department has published guidance for schools on FSM provision to eligible pupils who are being taught remotely. The guidance can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1136309/Providing_remote_education_non-statutory_guidance_for_schools.pdf, and: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/handling-strike-action-in-schools, and: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance.

Teachers: Pay

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of offering higher starting salaries to people entering the teaching profession with wider professional experience relevant to the subjects they teach.

Nick Gibb: The School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions document (STPCD) sets out the four pay ranges for teachers in maintained schools in England. A teacher must be paid a salary within the minimum and maximum of the pay range as set out within the STPCD as the relevant body determines. A link to more information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-teachers-pay-and-conditions.In the recent pay award, teachers and leaders in maintained schools received a pay award of 6.5%, the highest pay award for teachers in over thirty years. The Government also delivered its manifesto commitment of a minimum £30,000 starting salary for teachers in all regions of the country, with a pay award of up to 7.1% for new teachers outside London. The Department is committed to ensuring that teaching is a financially competitive career option within the graduate labour market.The Department wants to ensure there are excellent teachers where they are needed most. The Department has announced a £196 million initial teacher training (ITT) financial incentives package for the 2024/25 ITT recruitment cycle, a £15 million increase on the last cycle. This includes increased bursaries worth up to £28,000 tax free and scholarships worth up to £30,000 tax free, to encourage talented trainees to key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing. The Department is also providing a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax free for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the Department will be investing £100 million each year to double the rates of the Levelling Up Premium to up to £6,000 tax free.The Department continues to consider longer term pay priorities to attract and retain the best graduates whilst also delivering value for money on taxpayers’ investment in schools. The next remit to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) is due to be published shortly, which will include the strategic areas that the Department will consult the STRB on and look to implement in the next academic year.

Apprentices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the apprenticeship achievement rate was in the 2022-23 academic year.

Robert Halfon: Apprenticeship achievement rates for the 2022/23 academic year will be published in the Apprenticeships and traineeships: March 2024 statistics publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/apprenticeships-and-traineeships-march-2024.

Lifetime Skills Guarantee

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people in (a) full- and (b) part-time employment have used the Lifetime Skills Guarantee in each year since it was introduced.

Robert Halfon: The government publishes Further Education and Skills statistics at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-and-skills. Data regarding whether employment is full or part time is not routinely available.Two key elements of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee were Skills Bootcamps and Free Courses for Jobs.In March 2023 the department published an independent evaluation of Skills Bootcamps provision that was delivered in the 2021/22 financial year, that set out the employment status of learners. The evaluation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-skills-bootcamps-wave-2-implementation-report. It showed that for this year of provision:Two fifths of applicants (39%) and starts (37%) were in full-time employment prior to applying for, or starting, their Skills Bootcamp.Nearly one in six applicants and starts (both 14%) were in part-time employment prior to applying for, or starting, their Skills Bootcamp. The department is committed to publishing more data and evaluation reports for subsequent years of Skills Bootcamps provision, with ‘starts’ data for the 20222/23 financial year planned for publication by the end of the year.The department also publishes data on the employment status of those completing Free Courses for Jobs but that is not broken down by whether someone is working full or part time: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/4112d2de-145b-4708-1ab9-08dbb99e3fd8.

Further Education: Cost Effectiveness

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the Further Education Skills Index is calculated; and if she will publish any changes made to that calculation in the last 20 years.

Robert Halfon: The further education (FE) Skills Index was first published in 2019, and new data for the next academic year has been released annually since then. The first three editions were released as transparency data and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-skills-index. A further two recent releases were published as official statistics, and are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-skills-index.Information on how the FE Skills Index is calculated is contained within the Methodology that accompanies the publication: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/further-education-skills-indexThe main changes between the indexes is an update to the estimates of median earnings and expected percentage earnings returns (since the 2021 release, when the Index was recalculated using the updated data) and a slight presentational change (in the 2022 release) following the reclassification of some qualification levels. The 2021 release is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1003677/FE_Skills_Index_2021.pdf. Both changes are explained in the Methodology (specifically in the ‘Annex’ and ‘Changes to the presentation of reclassified Full Level 2 and Full Level 3 qualifications’ sections).

Alternative Education: Special Educational Needs

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of changes in the levels of local authority section 114 notices on the (a) adequacy, (b) resilience and (c) robustness of the market for alternative provision for children with SEND (i) in affected local authority areas and (ii) elsewhere.

David Johnston: Councils are responsible for their own finances and the decision to issue a Section 114 notice is one taken locally. Whilst the department has not made a formal assessment of the impact of Section 114 notices on the Alternative Provision (AP) market, where a notice is issued, Departmental officials work alongside colleagues from Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and will monitor the situation closely to ensure that statutory and key services to children and vulnerable people are not affected because of these controls.The published Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and AP Improvement Plan sets out the department’s plans to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who need AP, within a fair and financially sustainable system. The Improvement Plan outlines our approach to building capacity to achieve the behaviours and culture required for the successful implementation of these policy reforms, and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan.

Schools: Repairs and Maintenance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce the (a) level and (b) purpose of funding for the Rebuilding Schools Programme.

Nick Gibb: The School Rebuilding Programme was announced in 2020, with a commitment to rebuilding or significantly refurbishing buildings at 500 schools and sixth form colleges. The Department has announced 400 projects to date, including 239 last December. The programme prioritises buildings in poor condition and with potential safety issues.The programme is funded from the Department’s £19 billion capital budget set at the 2021 Spending Review. Further funding will be confirmed at the next Spending Review.In addition to rebuilding, over £15 billion has been allocated since 2015 to improve the condition of schools, including £1.8 billion committed for the 2023/24 financial year.

Special Educational Needs: Staff

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues, (b) NHS staff and (c) trade unions on the level of (i) training and (ii) skills required for staff who support staff children with SEND; and if she will consider the potential merits of helping ensure (A) that training is recognised and accredited and (B) skills are reflected in the pay and reward system.

David Johnston: We know that joined up working across health, education and care services is particularly important for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), which is why a cross government approach is being taken. The SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, which was published on 2 March 2023, was jointly signed by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and set out a package of support from early years right through to further education, to ensure that the multitude of professionals who work with children and young people with SEND have the right skills, knowledge and expertise.The Improvement Plan committed the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care to working together to take a joint approach to SEND workforce planning. The Improvement Plan also committed to exploring opportunities to build teacher expertise through the review of the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework (CCF) and Early Career Framework (ECF). This review started earlier this year and aims to conclude by the end of 2023, with a view to implementing changes when the ECF delivery contracts are renewed. We are accepting in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendations for the 2023/24 pay award for teachers and leaders. This means that teachers and leaders in maintained schools will receive a pay award of 6.5%, the highest pay award for teachers in over thirty years.The School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions document (STPCD) for 2022 sets out that an additional Special Educational Needs (SEN) allowance must be paid to teachers in a SEN post that requires a mandatory SEN qualification and involves teaching pupils with SEN. The full STPCD is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1110990/2022_STPCD.pdfMost schools, including academies, follow local government pay scales for school support staff. Local government pay scales are set through negotiation between the Local Government Association (LGA) and local government trade unions. Central government does not have any formal role in these matters.

Special Educational Needs: Autism

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support schools to make adjustments for children and young people on the waiting list for an autism assessment.

David Johnston: I refer my right hon. Friend, the Member for South Swindon to the answer of 25 September to question 199770.

T-levels

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many T-level courses were available for students to start in the 2023-24 academic year.

Robert Halfon: For the 2023/24 academic year, there are now 18 T Levels available for teaching across 8 routes. These offer specialist knowledge across 56 occupations. Providers determine their local offer based on student demand and local and national employment priorities, offering the T Levels and specialisms needed by their students and local employers.A list of the available T Levels is available at: https://www.tlevels.gov.uk/students/subjects.

Employment Schemes: Zero Hours Contracts

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has an assessment of the equity of opportunity of (a) the Prime Minister’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee and (b) other upskilling initiatives for people on zero hours contracts.

Robert Halfon: The department’s skills reforms aim to provide a ladder of opportunity for everyone to succeed, regardless of their background. The ladder has two pillars of reform: opportunities and social justice, which ensure equal opportunities and access to skills and education for all, regardless of background; and strengthening higher and further education, which is strengthening the post-16 system to foster exceptional teaching, high quality provision, well managed institutions, and value for money spending.The government has a range of skills offers for adults available, including those on zero hours contracts including:Investing in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) (£1.34 billion in the 2022/23 funding year). The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to support adults to gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.The Free Courses for Jobs offer, which was launched in April 2021, gives eligible adults the chance to access high value Level 3 qualification for free, which can support them to gain higher wages or a better job. This offer allows eligible learners to access a high-value level 3 qualification for free, to gain higher wages and access new job opportunities which will include people who are on zero hours contracts. Adults are eligible on the offer if they do not already have a level 3 qualification or already have a level 3 qualification but are on low wage or unemployed.Skills Bootcamps were introduced in 2020 to support adults to upskill and retrain in priority sectors with skills shortages, including Digital, HGV Driving, Construction and Green sectors. They are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the chance to build sector-specific skills with an offer of a job interview at the end. Skills Bootcamps are open to adults aged 19 and over who are either in work, self-employed, unemployed or returning to work after a break. The independent evaluation highlighted that Skills Bootcamps are reaching a diverse range of individuals, granting free training opportunities that would otherwise be inaccessible. Employers also felt that Skills Bootcamps helped to increase the diversity of their organisation.The department is also delivering Multiply, which includes up to £270 million directly available for local areas in England to deliver interventions to improve adult numeracy.Higher technical qualifications (HTQs) are being introduced to increase the profile, prestige and uptake of higher technical education. These are level 4 and 5 qualifications that are approved, and quality marked by the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfATE) as providing the skills employers need. HTQs are a high-quality alternative to degrees and apprenticeships that lead to positive outcomes for learners. To support the delivery of HTQs, we have announced up to approximately £117 million of funding to prime higher technical provision across the country. To help HTQs be studied flexibly and around other commitments, from September 2023, learners studying HTQs will be eligible for both tuition fee and maintenance loans whether they are studied full or part-time, on the same basis as degree level courses. HTQs will be among the first courses eligible for modular funding when the Lifelong Learning Entitlement launches in the 2025/26 annual year.

Pre-school Education

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that differences in regional needs are taken into account in early years provision.

David Johnston: Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the ‘Early education and childcare’ statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities should report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. The ‘Early education and childcare’ statutory guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2.The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing.Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, the department discusses what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and where needed supports the local authority with any specific requirements through its childcare sufficiency support contract.The department knows that the sector is facing economic challenges, similar to the challenges being faced across the economy. The department continues to engage with sector stakeholders and local authorities to monitor dynamics with local markets, parents’ access to the government’s entitlements and the childcare they require, and the sustainability of the sector.The government is providing £204 million this year, and £288 million in 2024/25, for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers, with funding uplifting year on year to meet rising cost pressures.The additional £204m is being distributed to local authorities via a new standalone Early years Supplementary Grant (EYSG) in 2023/24.As a result of this additional funding, funding rates to local authorities have risen by an average of 32% for the current 2-year-old entitlement, and by an average of 6.3% for the 3 to 4-year-old entitlements from September 2023, compared to their current 2023/24 rates.The EYSG rate for 2-year-olds is, on average, £1.95 per hour. This means that the national average hourly rate that local authorities will receive has risen from the current £6 per hour to £7.95.The EYSG rate for 3 and 4-year-olds is, on average, 33 pence per hour. Similarly, the national average hourly rate received by local authorities has risen from £5.29 to £5.62.This funding is in addition to £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to deliver the new offers.As part of the consultation published on 21 July, the department has published illustrative local authority hourly funding rates for those 2 years old and under for 2024/25. The department currently anticipates that, in 2024/25, the national average rates would be £8.17 for the 2-year-old entitlements and £11.06 for younger children. These illustrative rates are likely to change following the outcome of the consultation and when the latest data becomes available. The department will confirm final 2024/25 hourly funding rates for local authorities in the autumn.The department will ensure a phased implementation of the free hours offers, to allow the market to develop the necessary capacity.

Educational Psychology: Greater London

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many educational psychologist training places were funded by her Department in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London in each of the last five years.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of educational psychologists providing services to children in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.

David Johnston: Over the past five years, the department has funded a total of 304 educational psychologist (EP) training places across four London-based institutions. This figure includes a total of 56 funded training places per academic year starting in 2018 and 2019, increasing to a total of 64 funded training places per academic year starting in 2020, 2021 and 2022. A further cohort of 64 trainees is due to take up their funded training places at London-based institutions as of this autumn. As training places are allocated to institutions, the requested figures by parliamentary constituency and borough are not available. Additionally, the number employed in the private sector is not collected centrally.Information on the state-funded school workforce in England, including the number of EPs that were reported as being directly employed by local authorities in England, is published in the annual ‘School workforce in England’ national statistics release, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.According to the School Workforce Census, in November 2022 there were 2,325 EPs directly employed by local authorities in England, including 646 directly employed by local authorities in London, and 17 by the London Borough of Enfield. The figure provided also excludes local authorities who did not submit a return, or where EP provision has been outsourced or the provision has been shared with other local authorities.

Education: Social Class

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the attainment gap between pupils from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Nick Gibb: Closing the attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils has been the focus of our education reforms since 2010. The attainment gap narrowed by 9% at secondary school level and by 13% at primary school level between 2011 and 2019.For over a decade, the Department has consistently taken a range of steps to give priority support and deliver programmes that help disadvantaged pupils, including improving the quality of teaching and curriculum resources, strengthening the school system, and providing targeted support where needed. The Department knows that disadvantaged children have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, which has widened the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils. The Department will continue to work to reduce this gap, as it previously has.At a national level, the Department delivers several core policies to support disadvantaged pupils. This includes free school meals, which support around 2 million children, as well as the Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF), which is receiving £200 million in funding a year for the next two years, The Department also supports 2,700 breakfast clubs and family hubs.The National Funding Formula (NFF) continues to distribute funding fairly based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics. In 2023/24, the Department has targeted a greater proportion of schools NFF funding towards deprived pupils than ever before. Over £4 billion (9.8%) of the formula has been allocated according to deprivation, while over £7 billion (17.4%), has been allocated to additional needs overall. As a result, schools with the highest levels of deprivation, on average, attract the largest per pupil funding increases. On top of this core funding, Pupil Premium funding rates have increased by 5% in the 2023/24 financial year to a total of almost £2.9 billion. This increase in funding is on top of £1 billion of recovery premium funding in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years, which was allocated to deliver evidence based approaches to support educational recovery for disadvantaged pupils, and over £300 million delivered in 2021/22.The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) funds schools based on rates of disadvantage. Since the launch of the NTP in November 2020, more than £1 billion has been made available to support tutoring. From November 2020 to the 2023/24 academic year, nearly 4 million tutoring courses have been started (up to July 2023).At a regional level, the Department has identified 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs) with the lowest attainment outcomes. In these areas, the Department is providing £86 million for Trust Capacity funding, up to £150 million for Connect the Classroom, and extra funding for Levelling Up Premium retention payments to support schools with two or more Requires Improvement inspection reports.24 EIAs have been identified as Priority EIAs. These areas face low attainment at Key Stage 2 and high levels of disadvantage. They therefore receive additional funding, including £42 million of Local Needs Funding, £86 million for Connect the Classroom and over £2 million for attendance mentoring pilots.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of regional disparities in funding available for early years providers.

David Johnston: The government currently funds local authorities to deliver the government-funded entitlements through the Early Years National Funding Formula (EYNFF) for 3 and 4-year-olds and a separate formula for 2-year-olds. These have been designed to allocate the department’s record investment in early years entitlement funding fairly and transparently across the country.The EYNFF is made up of a universal base rate, which is the same hourly funding rate for every child in a local authority, plus funding factors for additional needs, based on the measures of free school meals, disability living allowance, and English as an additional language.The formula also includes an area cost adjustment (ACA) multiplier to reflect variations in costs across different areas of the country. This uses the General Labour Market measure to reflect staff costs and a Rates Cost Adjustment to reflect premises related costs.Each local authority’s EYNFF rate will vary depending on their level of additional needs and their ACA values. Following a consultation in 2022, the department has updated the funding formulae to ensure the funding system remains fair, effective and responsive to changing levels of need across different local authorities.To distribute the additional £204 million funding provided from September for the existing entitlements through the Early Years Supplementary Grant (EYSG), the department has used the existing funding formulae for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds. This allows the department to recognise cost variations between local authority areas when determining the EYSG rates for individual local authorities.With the introduction of the new entitlements for working parents of children aged 9 months to 2 years from 2024/25, the department has recently finished consulting on its proposed funding formula for distributing funding to local authorities, along with the accompanying local rules for local authorities to follow when passing on this funding to early years providers. That consultation closed on 8 September and the department will announce its response and confirm the final hourly funding rates for 2024/25 later this year.At a local level, local authorities are responsible for setting individual provider funding rates in consultation with their providers and schools forum, and fund providers using their local funding formula. In setting their local funding formula, all local authorities are required to use the same base rate for all providers. On top of the base rate, additional funding can be paid to providers to reflect local needs through the use of a mandatory supplement for deprivation, and other discretionary supplements. But supplements are capped at a maximum of 12% of the total funding to providers.

Schools: First Aid

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding first aid training in schools in on public safety.

Nick Gibb: All state funded schools in England are required to teach first aid as part of statutory health education, which is taught as part of relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). It includes basic first aid and dealing with common injuries. Pupils in secondary schools are taught further first aid, including how to administer CPR and the purpose of defibrillators.The Department has brought forward the review of the RSHE statutory guidance. Stakeholders and interested parties will have the opportunity to contribute to the review through a public consultation. Following the consultation, the Department will make a decision regarding any new content to be included in the RSHE curriculum. The Department expects to publish the revised guidance in 2024.

Reading: Teaching Methods

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the first Government-funded research or evaluation into phonics teaching was commissioned.

Nick Gibb: ​​The first Government funded review was carried out by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and the Sutton Trust who are, together, the Government designated What Works Centre for Education. The EEF, which was set up in 2011 through a £125 million Government grant (with a further £137 million grant in 2022), carried out a comprehensive review of robust studies on the impact of phonics, which was last updated in July 2021. They found that phonics is more effective on average than other approaches for early reading, when embedded in a rich literacy environment. Phonics approaches have been consistently found to be effective in supporting younger readers to master the basics of reading, with an average effect of an additional four months’ progress.​Since 2010, the Government has accelerated the effective teaching of phonics, by placing it right at the heart of the curriculum. This has included introducing the annual Phonics Screening Check (PSC) in 2012 for pupils at the end of Year 1, launching the English Hubs programme in 2018 to improve the teaching of reading, with a focus on phonics, and publishing a list of Department approved phonics programmes in 2021 to support schools to choose a phonics programme.​Thanks to these reforms and the hard work of teachers, England’s 9-10-year-olds came fourth out of the 43 countries that tested children of the same age in the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), making our children the best in the western world at reading. This success in PIRLS follows the reforms brought in under this Government, in particular a greater focus on reading in the primary curriculum and a particular emphasis on phonics.

Students: Loans

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of freezing the interest applied to student finance loans during (a) career breaks and (b) earning reductions relating to childcare responsibilities.

Robert Halfon: The government wants a sustainable student finance system that is fair to students and taxpayers, and which continues to enable anyone with the ability and the ambition to benefit from higher education to do so. The student finance system protects borrowers, including people on career breaks or with childcare responsibilities, if they see a reduction in their earnings. Student loan repayments are made based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly income, not the interest rate or amount borrowed, and no repayments are made for earnings below the relevant repayment threshold.The recent student loan (Plan 5 reforms) makes the student loan system fairer for taxpayers and fairer for students, helping to keep the system sustainable in the long term. The new loan plan asks graduates to repay for longer and from an income threshold of £25,000, but also increases certainty for borrowers by reducing interest rates to RPI only. This change ensures that borrowers on the new Plan 5 terms will not repay, under those terms, more than they originally borrowed over the lifetime of their loans, when adjusted for inflation. Lower earners will still be protected. If a borrower’s income is below the repayment threshold of, currently, £25,000 per year, they won’t be required to make any repayments at all. Any outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is written off at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower. No commercial loans offer this level of borrower protection. To further protect borrowers, where the Government considers that the student loan interest rate is too high in comparison to the prevailing market rate (PMR) for comparable unsecured personal loans, it will reduce the maximum student loan interest rate charged by applying a cap in line with the PMR.A comprehensive equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.

Special Educational Needs

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support schools in areas where there has been an increase in the number of children with SEND with (a) staffing and (b) estate provision.

David Johnston: I refer the hon. Member for York Central to the answer of 19 September 2023 to Question 198805.

Pre-school Education

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to manage increases in demand for nursery places.

David Johnston: Concerning the number of new spaces that will need to be made available for pre-school childcare providers, the department used the results from the 2021 Childcare and early years survey as a guide. The results of this survey are accessible at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021. The data tables at 1.6 and 1.7 show the proportion of children at the relevant ages using formal childcare, and for how long per week. This data was used to estimate, of the children using the offer, how many need new places compared to how many already would pay for childcare under the pre-existing system.The department is providing £204 million this year, increasing to £288 million by 2024/25, for local authorities to increase the hourly funding rate to providers. As a result of this additional funding, funding rates to local authorities will rise by an average of 32% for the current 2-year-old entitlement, and by an average of 6.3% for 3-4-year-old entitlements from September 2023, compared to their current 2023/24 rates.The department is ensuring a phased implementation of the expansion to the 30 hours offer to allow the market to develop the necessary capacity. The department is also launching a new national recruitment campaign to support the recruitment and retention of talented staff to support the expansion of the 30 hours offer.We are also consulting on changes to the early years foundation stage framework that aim to reduce known burdens on providers and offer them more flexibility. The department is continuing to explore how the sector can be supported to deliver the additional places that will be required.We will also continue to monitor the sufficiency of childcare places. The department’s childcare and early years provider survey shows that the number of places available has remained broadly stable since 2019.The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children.Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the early education and childcare statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents.The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing.Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, the department discusses what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and, where needed, supports the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.

Schools: Carbon Emissions

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report of the National Audit Office entitled, Environmental Sustainability Overview: Department for Education, published on 28 June 2023, what steps she is taking to support schools that are not included in the School Rebuilding Programme to become net zero carbon in operation.

Nick Gibb: In November 2021, the Department published a new zero carbon and climate resilient specification, for use on all new and refurbished school and college buildings. As well as being used on the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP), the specification sets a wide range of performance and construction standards, including environmental above those required in building regulations. This includes design specifications so that buildings can be adapted for a 2°C rise in average global temperatures and future proofed for a 4°C rise, to adapt to the risks of climate change, including increased flooding and higher indoor temperatures. This is also available for use by responsible bodies and others who are encouraged to follow its minimum standards.​The Department is also currently testing a range of approaches to operating schools at zero carbon; improving energy efficiency, and resilience to the effects of climate change; as well as using ultra-low carbon construction methods, that can be used to retrofit existing buildings, including the replacement of high carbon intensity heat sources.​The Department works closely with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to help schools and colleges access the £1.4 billion Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which supports the aim of reducing emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037. Information on the Scheme can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-sector-decarbonisation-scheme.​From October 2022, up to £635 million over the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years has been made available through Phase 3b of the scheme for installing low carbon heating and energy efficiency measures in public buildings.​Schools and those responsible for school buildings are also provided with guidance on sustainability, managing energy and water use and minimising waste in the Good Estate Management for Schools manual. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools.

Universities: Student Wastage

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2023 to Question 197775 on Universities: Student Wastage, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for her policies of the withdrawal rate from higher education providers in England remaining above 15,000 since 2018/19.

Robert Halfon: The government wants to make sure that all students, regardless of background or circumstances, see a positive return on their significant investment in higher education (HE). This means they must achieve good quality qualifications, which equip them with the skills they need to achieve their potential.Students are more likely to continue and complete their courses if they are of high quality. On 17July, we announced a package of reforms aimed at improving the quality of HE provision across the sector. The Prime Minister said then, and in his speech to the Conservative Party Conference, that the government will stop universities offering low value “rip-off degrees”. The OfS has already introduced a more rigorous and effective quality regime, including new minimum thresholds for student outcomes and has begun a new programme of investigations, the first reports of which were published on 12 September. Further information is available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/press-and-media/ofs-publishes-first-reports-of-quality-assessment-visits/.The department intends to ask the OfS to limit student recruitment where a provider is found to have breached student outcomes requirements, and would like to see consideration of future earnings made part of the regulatory regime.The government is also focused on supporting students in practical ways. We have made £276 million of student premium and mental health funding available for the 2023/24 academic year to support successful outcomes for students, including for disadvantaged students. We have frozen the maximum level of tuition fees and we are trying to minimise the debt burdens for graduates wherever we can.Those students struggling with their mental health can access Student Space, a mental health and wellbeing hub funded with £3.6m by OfS and the HE Funding Council Wales. This resource provides a dedicated online platform for students providing vital mental health and wellbeing resources. Over 450,000 students have accessed the platforms resources since its launch in August 2020.We have asked the OfS to distribute £15 million of funding to providers in 2023/24 to support student mental health, including providing additional support for transitions from school/college to university, with a particular focus on providing counselling services for students. This funding will also allow providers to continue to develop better partnerships with local NHS services to ensure that students are able to access support in a timely manner, and not slip between the gaps in university and NHS provision. Partnership working between HE providers and the NHS will improve the care of students experiencing poor mental health by ensuring a more joined up approach to the delivery of mental health support.I expect these combined efforts to have positive impacts on degree continuation and completion rates, as well as rates of progression into professional employment and further study.

Education: Cybersecurity

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to secure pupils' data against cyber attacks.

Nick Gibb: The Department has taken steps to secure pupils’ data by introducing Cyber security standards for schools and colleges which outline what schools need to do to prevent cyber security risks, attacks and strengthen safeguarding policies.Schools are required to meet data protection regulations and report personal data breaches. Guidance on keeping pupils safe in education sets out the requirements that schools and colleges need to meet to ensure IT systems are appropriately safeguarded from attacks.The standards help schools understand how to protect network, data, devices and user accounts to minimise data loss, costs and safeguarding issues.The standards state the requirement for schools to have at least 3 backup copies of important data, on at least 2 separate devices, with at least 1 off site.The backup of important data is also a requirement for schools and colleges that sign up for cyber risk protection arrangement cover. Schools must determine which data is important to their operations, but it is likely to include personal, financial, management and network data as a minimum. The National Cyber Security Centre provides advice and guidance to help schools understand what data they must protect.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to inform early years providers about the process of accessing funding for school places before changes in the numbers of children who are eligible for nursery places from 2024/25.

David Johnston: Children remain eligible for an early education place until they start in reception at a state-funded school. For many children this will be the September following their 4th birthday, or the term after they turn 5 (which is when they reach compulsory school age).This applies to the process for accessing funding for school places before changes in the number of children who are eligible for nursery places from 2024/25.

Adult Education and Further Education: Birmingham

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Birmingham Council issuing a Section 114 notice on the provision of (a) adult and (b) further education.

Robert Halfon: The Birmingham Adult Education Service, part of Birmingham City Council, is responsible for adult education across the city. Following the devolution of adult funding in August 2019, the responsibility for funding the Adult Education Service transferred to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). The Combined Authority confirms that it has held initial conversations with the Birmingham Adult Education Service senior team and expects no impact on devolved AEB delivery following the issuing of the Section 114 notice, as the grant is ring fenced and adult education is a strategic priority. The Department’s Territorial Team meets regularly with WMCA and will assess the situation on an ongoing basis. The Adult Education Service also receives small scale non-devolved AEB and further education loans funding of approximately £290,000 from the Education and Skills Funding Agency and this will be managed through the usual performance management process.

BTEC Qualifications

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of students completed BTEC qualifications in the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 academic year and (i) had special educational needs and (ii) came from a BAME background.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of students completed T-Level qualifications in the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 academic year and (i) had special educational needs and (ii) came from a BAME background.

Robert Halfon: T LevelsIn the 2022/23 and 2021/22 academic years, 3,448 and 991 learners completed T Levels respectively.The breakdown by the characteristics requested is provided below: 2022-23 Completers2021-22 CompletersSEN StatusStudents who completedProportionStudents who completedProportionEducation, Health and Care Plan381%111%SEN Support3109%828%No Special Educational Need2,89684%84986%Unknown2046%495%  2022-23 Completers2021-22 CompletersEthnicityStudents who completedProportionStudents who completedProportionAsian or Asian British35510%707%Black, Black British, Caribbean or African1354%323%Mixed or multiple ethnic groups1053%253%White2,56874%78179%Other ethnic group341%172%Unknown2517%667% Note 1: Department for Education (DfE) analysis of Manage T Level Service results series linked to the Young Persons Matched Administrative Dataset (YPMAD) to obtain student characteristics. Some individuals appearing in the Manage T Level Service results data may not appear in the YPMAD, meaning that some students are missing characteristics data.Note 2: The published data on T Level results can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/provisional-t-level-results The number of exam entries by 16- to 18-year-olds, taking an applied general or tech level qualifications broken down by special educational needs and ethnicity in 2021/22 can be seen at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/4dc60e85-d5da-4a96-5a38-08dbb9ac4483. The 2022/23 data will be published in November 2023. Applied general and tech level qualifications are level 3 vocational and technical qualifications that include BTECs, which are a brand of qualifications awarded by Pearson, as well as similar qualifications awarded by other awarding bodies.

Department for Education: Incentives

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2022 to Question 97588 on Department for Education: Incentives, what the total value was of non-cash vouchers awarded to staff working for her core Department as performance-related bonuses in 2022-23.

Nick Gibb: Attracting, retaining and motivating highly skilled individuals is essential for the Civil Service to deliver for the British people and that is why pay must be fair and competitive as well as affordable to the taxpayer, with performance-related awards and vouchers being a key part of this.Performance related awards, paid out as non-cash vouchers, are standard practice across Government. The Department uses instant reward vouchers to reward individuals who have a positive impact on the delivery of the Department’s business, with awards usually ranging between £25 and £100.The total value of non-cash vouchers provided to employees working for the Department in 2022/23 was £445,000 (rounded to the nearest £1,000).

T-levels: Expenditure

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse was for delivering T-levels in the (a) 2022-23, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2020-21 academic year.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what was the cost to the public purse of the T-Level transition course in the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 academic year.

Robert Halfon: The published figures do not specify the total spend on the T Level programme for 2022/2023, 2021/2022 and 2020/2021. The total spend from pre 2019 through to the 2024/2025 financial year is due to be £1,754 million. This includes developing and growing the capacity of teachers to deliver T Levels effectively and significant additional capital funding, in order for providers to have the resources to deliver T Levels to a high standard. Most recently, the department announced £100 million capital funding to support providers delivering T Levels in September 2024 through the Buildings and Facilities Improvement Grant.The T Level Foundation Year (previously called T Level Transition Programme) is funded as a 16 to 19 study programme. The costs of the T Level Foundation Year is not detailed separately in published allocations. The department has run an externally contracted programme to provide support to colleges and schools in delivering this programme. The costs of this are not published but are included in the figure provided above for total spend on the T Level programme.

Schools: Migrant Workers

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2023 to question 196237 on Schools: Migrant Workers, how the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) is used to maintain (a) her Department's skills budget and (b) investment in skills in England.

Robert Halfon: As set out in the response to written parliamentary questions 196237 and 196238, the department does not receive a hypothecated budget for the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) and does not therefore maintain a list of individual projects in this way.The amount of funding generated by the charge will depend on employer use of the skilled worker route. While the income raised is not additional funding for skills, the ISC is helping to maintain the department’s existing skills budget and existing level of investment in adult skills in England.Receipts from ISC are paid to the exchequer and taken into consideration when allocating funds for skills provision in England. These can be found in the Home Office's annual report and accounts.

Special Educational Needs

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to provide children with SEND access to (a) services and (b) support in school holidays.

David Johnston: The government is again investing over £200 million in the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, with all local authorities in England delivering in the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays.The department encourages local authorities to use their discretion and use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related free school meals, but who the local authority believe could benefit from the HAF provision. We provide guidance to local authorities on designing provision for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and they must include the numbers of children with SEND or additional needs who have participated in their programme in their post-provision reporting to us.Where children and young people have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan that specifies the provision of services or support outside of term time, the local authority or the relevant health commissioner will be required to secure the provision. Additionally, through the Children and Families Act 2014, the department requires local authorities to work with schools and other partners to publish a ‘SEN and Disability Local Offer’ outlining the support and services they expect to be available to children and young people in their area who have SEN or are disabled, including those who do not have EHC plans.All local authorities have a duty to provide a range of short breaks for carers of disabled children and must publish a statement about short breaks services in their area. In 2022, we launched the Short Breaks Innovation Fund, a £30 million fund to test novel approaches to short breaks.

Schools: Sexual Offences

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support children in school who have reported an allegation of sexual assault or rape by a peer.

Nick Gibb: The Department’s statutory safeguarding guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE)’ provides schools and colleges with advice on handling allegations of sexual assault or rape by a peer. All schools and colleges must have regard to this guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils.KCSIE does not provide, nor would it be possible to provide, detailed guidance on what to do in every case. Instead, it provides effective safeguarding practice and principles for schools to consider in their decision making process.Part five of KCSIE provides clear advice on what schools should do to manage any reports of child on child sexual violence or sexual harassment. It provides detailed information on schools’ legal responsibilities, best practice, and advice on managing reports of harmful sexual behaviour or abuse, with links to specialist advice and support for children.The Department consults bi-annually on KCSIE to ensure that it provides school and college safeguarding leads with the information they need to keep pupils safe.

Higher Education: Admissions

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications were (a) received and (b) accepted for the Higher Education Short Courses trial in the (a) 2021-2022 and (b) 2022-23 academic years; and how many and what proportion of people with accepted applications applied for (i) fee and (ii) maintenance loans.

Robert Halfon: The higher education short courses trial, which began roll-out over the course of the 2022/23 academic year, has seen 22 providers develop over 100 short courses.As of June 2023, there have been 240 applications to providers for designated short courses, which have resulted in 126 enrolments. The Student Loans Company (SLC) has received 75 applications for HESC tuition-fee loans, of which 34 have resulted in payment. Maintenance loans are not available for higher education short courses.This is the first time that a tuition fee loan from the SLC has been available to students applying for HESC. Although the department is only offering tuition fee loans for the courses within this trial, applying for tuition fee loans is not the only way to fund a HESC, with some students choosing to work with their employer to secure funding, some paying for it themselves, and some providers covering the costs of the course to test demand for short courses.The numbers of applications for loans for the trial only test demand for loan funding and are nor the best or only indicator of demand. There is a wide range of evidence that individuals want to pursue technical and vocational education, sometimes modularly, at Levels 4 and 5 such as uptake of Advanced Learner Loans, uptake of Foundation Degrees, HNDs and HNCs, data from the In-Work Skills pilot and growing numbers of approved HTQs.

Adult Education

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on adult education (a) participation and (b) outcomes by ethnic group since 2021.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on adult education (a) participation and (b) outcomes by income since 2021.

Robert Halfon: The ethnicity of adult (19+) further education and skills learners (self-declared) is recorded on the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) and published by the Department in the further education and skills statistics publication at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-and-skills. Learner income is not recorded on the ILR. Participation by ethnicity group for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 academic years is shown here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a35b0db5-e926-43b0-1a51-08dbb99e3fd8. The full year figures for the 2022/23 academic year will be published in November 2023.Further education outcomes are published annually, including employment and further learning destinations and earnings outcomes available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/further-education-outcome-based-success-measures. Users can break down measures to view those of learners with specific ethnicities. The publication contains information on earnings post-learning but does not include breakdowns by learner income prior to or during learning.The most recent published data relates to adult learners who achieved their qualification in the 2019/20 and their destinations in the following academic year. Outcomes by ethnic group for adults achieving in 2019/20 are shown here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/57c83f1d-2fbd-4999-5a54-08dbb9ac4483. Data for 2020/21 achievers will be available in November 2023.

Childcare

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support parents with changes to nursery funding.

David Johnston: In the government’s Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children, the economy and women. By 2027/28, this government expects to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free childcare hours and early education, helping families with pre-school children with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.Our reforms include:Providing over £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to fund 30 hours of free childcare for children over the age of nine months.Investing £204 million from this September, rising to £288 million next year to uplift the rates for existing entitlements.Increasing the supply of wraparound care through £289 million start-up funding.Attracting more people to childminding through an up to £7.2 million start up grant fund.Giving providers more flexibility by changing staff to child ratios to 1:5 for two- year-olds in England. The department will continue to work closely with the sector on the implementation of these reforms and will set out further details in due course. This is a massive expansion in the offer and will take some time to implement and rollout. The department wants to make sure that taxpayers’ money is used efficiently and that the new offer is delivered in the best way.The government’s Childcare Choices communications campaign aims to ensure every parent knows about the government funded support they are eligible for. Further information on Childcare Choices is available at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/. Further information on the full range of support available to parents can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/.

Pupil Premium: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of pupils are eligible for the pupil premium in Romford constituency.

Nick Gibb: The Government provides additional funding through the Pupil Premium to support disadvantaged pupils. The Pupil Premium rates have increased by 5% for 2023/24, taking total Pupil Premium funding nationally to almost £2.9 billion.As of June 2023, 3,493 pupils attending schools in the Romford constituency were eligible for Pupil Premium funding of £4,511,190. The proportion of pupils eligible for Pupil Premium funding in Romford schools, as of June 2023, was 22.9%. Pupil Premium allocations, including at constituency level, are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2023-to-2024.

T-levels

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students (a) undertook a T-level transition course and (b) started a T-level course after completing transition course in (i) 2021-22 and (ii) 2022-23.

Robert Halfon: In 2021/22, there were approximately 3,350 students on T Level Transition Programmes across the four available T Level routes. In 2022/23, there were approximately 5,600 students on T Level Transition Programmes across the eleven available T Level routes.The department will publish progression data on the 2021/22 cohort in due course. Progression data on the 2022/23 cohort is not yet available.The department strengthened the programme from September 2022 so that as many young people as possible can benefit from T Levels. The programme will be renamed to the T Level Foundation Year, in order to send a stronger signal that it is the first year of a three year journey to a T Level qualification.

Adult Education: Expenditure

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what was the cost to the public purse of delivering adult education in the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 academic year.

Robert Halfon: The department has separated adult education funding in financial years and is reflected in the table below. £m2022-232021-22SourceAdult Education Budget1,4471,433Published accountsBootcamps[1]9234YE management accountsMultiply62-YE management accountsALL Loan123153SLC data recorded on students' accountsALL Bursary[2]2218DashboardsApprenticeships (19+)[3]1,6331,666YE management accountsTotal3,3793,302To note:*Data reflected in Financial Years*Funding in England only*Data excludes HE loans funding*Some data derived from internal management accounts.[1] Of which includes year-end provisions of £2m in 21-22 and £9m in 22-23. Provisions in relation to learners that had completed their courses in FY 21-22/22-23, but pending confirmation of MS2/MS3 outcomes.[2] 2021-22 bursary figure reduced due to a £12.6m reconciliation amount from the prior year[3] Does not include covid recovery.

Mature Students: Loans

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many individuals (a) applied and (b) were granted an Adult Learner Loan in the (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23 academic year.

Robert Halfon: The number of received and approved applications for Advanced Learner loans for academic years 2014/15 to 2021/22 are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/f26d541b-5dfd-40f9-5102-08dbb397f37b.Corresponding figures for the 2022/23 academic year will be published in November 2023 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/further-education-and-skills-november-2023.These figures are for applications, a learner may apply for more than one advanced learner loan in an academic year.

Falcons Pre-Preparatory Chiswick

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has received representations from the Alpha Plus Group on the proposed closure of Falcons pre-preparatory school in Chiswick.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed closure of Falcons Pre-preparatory school in Chiswick on the ability of nearby local authorities to meet their statutory duty to provide schooling.

Nick Gibb: The Secretary of State has not received any representations from Alpha Plus Group regarding the proposed closure of Falcons pre-preparatory school in Chiswick.The Secretary of State has not made any assessment of the potential impact of the proposed closure of Falcons Pre-preparatory school in Chiswick.

T-levels: Work Experience

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many employers offered work placements for T-level students in the 2022-23 academic year.

Robert Halfon: The department does not centrally collect data regarding the number of employers who offered industry placements to T Level students. Individual providers hold this data locally, as they own the relationships with their local labour market.

T-levels: Further Education and Higher Education

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of people who studied T-levels in the 2021-22 academic year went on to undertake a (a) higher technical and (b) higher education qualification.

Robert Halfon: T Levels are designed to equip students for skilled employment, whilst also providing a high-quality route to further study, including apprenticeships, higher technical education and degree level study.Published data from the Department’s Technical Education Learner Survey shows that at the end of their programme, of those completing their T Level in the 2021/22 academic year, 38% were planning to do a degree, 17% an apprenticeship (including a degree apprenticeship), 1% a Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ), 3% another level 4/5 qualification and 3% other type of further study. In total, this is 62% of the cohort completing in 2021/22. The remainder of the cohort were planning to go into paid work (28%), something else (4%) or weren’t sure (5%). This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technical-education-learner-survey-2022.Further data from the Technical Education Learner Survey will be published in early 2024, which will provide details on the destinations of learners completing a T Level in the 2021/22 academic year.Destination measures are published for students at the end of Key Stage 5 annually in October, with an approximate 2 year lag to when attainment statistics are published nationally in the 'A level and other 16 to 18 results' statistical release. The department intends to include T Level attainment data for the first time in that release for students at the end of 16 -18 study in 2023/24 (November 2024), and therefore expect the destination measures statistical release for that cohort to also start to include T Level students from October 2026.

Childcare: Finance

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason her Department plans to provide higher funding per hour for childcare in London than in Barnsley.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to provide additional funding to early years childcare providers to help increase their capacity ahead of the implementation of Government plans to broaden eligibility for state-funded places.

David Johnston: The Government currently funds local authorities to deliver the government-funded entitlements through the Early Years National Funding Formula (EYNFF) for 3 and 4-year-olds and a separate formula for 2-year-olds. These have been designed to allocate our record investment in early years entitlement funding fairly and transparently across the country.The EYNFF is made up of a universal base rate, (which is the same hourly funding rate for every child in a local authority) plus funding factors for additional needs, using measures of free school meals; disability living allowance and English as an additional language. The formula also includes an area cost adjustment (ACA) multiplier to reflect variations in costs across different areas of the country. This uses the General Labour Market measure to reflect staff costs and a Rates Cost Adjustment to reflect premises related costs. Each local authority’s EYNFF rate will vary depending on their level of additional needs and their ACA values.Following a consultation in 2022, the department updated the funding formulae to ensure the funding system remains fair, effective and responsive to changing levels of need across different local authorities.On 7 July the department announced that the additional £204 million funding for early years in 2023/24, announced at the Spring Budget in March, will be distributed to local authorities via a standalone Early Years Supplementary Grant (EYSG) from September 2023.To recognise cost variations between local authority areas, we have used the existing funding formulae for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds (and using the same underlying weightings and data that were used to calculate the 2023/24 hourly funding rates) to determine the EYSG rates for each individual local authority.With the introduction of the new entitlements for working parents of children aged 9 months to 2 years from 2024/25, we have recently finished consulting on our proposed funding formula for distributing funding to local authorities, along with the accompanying local rules for local authorities to follow when passing on this funding to early years providers. That consultation closed on 8 September and we will announce our response and confirm the final hourly funding rates for 2024/25 in the autumn.We will ensure a phased implementation of the free hours offers, to allow the market to develop the necessary capacity as well as continuing to explore how we can support the sector to deliver the additional places that will be required.We will work closely with local authorities and providers to identify what needs to be in place to support this significant expansion in childcare provision including capital requirements as well as workforce.

Cramlington Learning Village

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has provided additional capital funding to Cramlington Learning Village in Blyth Valley constituency to improve the condition of elements of the school rated poor by the Condition Data Collection survey.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has provided additional capital funding to St Aidan's Church of England Memorial Primary School in Hartlepool constituency to improve the condition of elements of the school rated poor by the Condition Data Collection survey.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has provided additional capital funding to Lorton School, in Copeland constituency to improve the condition of elements of the school rated poor by the Condition Data Collection survey.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, , whether her Department has provided additional capital funding to Ribston Hall High School in Gloucester constituency to improve the condition of elements of the school rated poor by the Condition Data Collection survey.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has provided additional capital funding to Peatmoor Community Primary School, in the South Swindon constituency to improve the condition of elements of the school rated poor by the Condition Data Collection survey.

Nick Gibb: It is the responsibility of those who run schools - academy trusts, Local Authorities and voluntary aided school bodies - to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert the Department if there is a serious concern with a building. It has always been the case that where the Department is made aware a building may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.The Department has committed £1.8 billion of capital funding for the financial year 2023/24 to improve the condition of school buildings, as part of over £15 billion allocated since 2015. In addition, the Department will transform poor condition buildings at 500 schools and colleges through the School Rebuilding Programme, including Cramlington Learning Village in Blyth Valley constituency and Ribston Hall High School in Gloucester Constituency.Local Authorities, larger multi academy trusts and larger voluntary aided bodies are eligible to receive an annual School Condition Allocation (SCA) to prioritise on improving the condition of their schools. Smaller and stand alone academy trusts, small voluntary aided school bodies and colleges are able to bid to the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF), an annual bidding round, to apply for funding for specific capital projects. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-improvement-fund.Allocations to improve the condition of schools take into account consistent data from the Condition Data Collection (CDC1) to ensure funding is weighted to reflect the relative condition of school buildings. The Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) is in progress to collect updated data on the condition of schools in England. Reports from the programme are shared with schools and responsible bodies to help inform their plans, alongside their own condition surveys and checks.Schools also receive funding to spend on their capital priorities or to contribute to larger projects through an annual Devolved Formula Capital allocation (DFC). Details of SCA and DFC allocations for the current financial year are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-capital-funding#funding-allocations-for-the-2022-to-2023-financial-year and here: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/*/https:/www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-allocations.For the 2023/24 financial year, Cramlington Learning Village, St Aidan’s Church of England Memorial Primary School, Lorton School, Ribston Hall High School and Peatmoor Community Primary School were all eligible to bid to the CIF. Applications for CIF are robustly assessed against the published criteria, prioritising need and feedback is provided for unsuccessful applications. All successful CIF bids are published here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-improvement-fund.Where the Department is alerted to significant safety issues with a building that cannot be managed with local resources, it provides additional support on a case by case basis. CIF eligible schools can apply for urgent capital support throughout the year if they have urgent building issues that need to be addressed. The Department also provides extensive guidance for responsible bodies to help them manage their estates effectively through resources such as the Good Estate Management for Schools guidance.The Department will always put the safety and wellbeing of children and staff in schools and colleges at the heart of its policy decisions. The Government has taken more proactive action to identify and mitigate RAAC in education settings than the devolved administrations in the UK, or indeed, governments overseas.

Cabinet Office

Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland on fraudulent or incorrect payments paid out by public bodies in Northern Ireland.

Alex Burghart: The UK Government does not hold this information and is a matter for the Northern Ireland Civil Service.However, we are committed to combatting fraud through prevention, detection and taking action against those who commit it.The Cabinet Office worked with HM Treasury to launch the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) in August 2022. The PSFA is the government’s centre of expertise and works with ministerial departments and public bodies to understand and reduce the impact of public sector fraud. The PSFA provides counter fraud data analytics capability through the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) to public bodies including those in Northern Ireland. Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2022, the NFI achieved £4.4 million of counter fraud savings through the prevention or recovery of fraud in Northern Ireland.The Rt Hon. Jeremy Quin MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office and HM Paymaster General, has not had any meetings on the subject of fraudulent or incorrect payments paid out by public bodies with the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland.

Civil Servants: Training

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the objective of the Government Consulting Hub to grow the Civil Service’s internal capability, how many officials have participated in civil service learning programmes for the purposes of equipping them with the skills to deliver work commonly undertaken by consultants.

Jeremy Quin: The Government Consultancy Hub (GCH) ran from May 2021 to 31 January 2023. One of the unit’s goals was to grow the Civil Service’s internal capability and confidence to frame and/or address its strategic questions, to be a strong customer of consultancy, and to redeploy knowledge and experience. Since May 2021 until September there have been a total of: - 36 cohorts, with 576 places, of the GCH sponsored Core Consulting Skills programme- 3 cohorts, with 48 places, of the contextualised IPA Core Consulting Skills programme.- 15 people completed a Senior Leaders Consulting Skills programme. In addition, 18 people in DWP completed Leadership Capability team development – core capability developments on how to consult and identify needs.

Infected Blood Inquiry

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the second interim report of the Infected Blood Inquiry, published on 5 April 2023, what steps he is taking to respond to recommendation (k).

Jeremy Quin: The Government continues to make progress with the work necessary to enable a response to the full report, when it is published. In July 2022, I provided evidence to the Infected Blood Inquiry setting out the current Government thinking and I will update the House as soon as I am able to provide further information.

Cabinet Office: Incentives

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2022 to Question 97501, what was the total value of non-cash vouchers awarded to staff working for his core Department as performance-related bonuses in 2022-23.

Alex Burghart: Bonuses paid out as non-cash vouchers is a standard practice across Government and has been for many years.Attracting, retaining and motivating highly skilled individuals is essential for the Civil Service to deliver for the British people. This is why pay must be fair and competitive as well as affordable to the taxpayer. Performance-related bonuses and vouchers are a key part of this.The total value of non-cash vouchers issued to Cabinet Office staff in 2022-23 was £920,190.

Immigration: Australasia and Canada

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of recent trends in the level of immigration from (a) Australia, (b) New Zealand and (c) Canada; and how many people from (i) Australia, (ii) New Zealand and (iii) Canada reside in the UK.

Jeremy Quin: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 19th September is attached. UK Statistics Authority (pdf, 118.6KB)

Northern Ireland Civil Service: Sick Leave

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if his Department holds data on the number of sick days taken by Northern Ireland civil service staff in 2022.

Jeremy Quin: The Cabinet Office does not hold this information and I refer the Hon Gentleman to the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

Government Departments: ICT

Matt Rodda: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of Government spending on legacy IT systems 2023.

Matt Rodda: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to replace legacy IT systems; and what the estimated expenditure on replacing those systems is.

Matt Rodda: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what was the cost to the public purse of external contractors used to maintain legacy IT systems in the most recent period for which data is available.

Matt Rodda: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the (a) number of items and (b) cost to the public purse of Government IT equipment introduced in the (i) 1980's, (ii) 1990's and (iii) 2000's.

Alex Burghart: Through the work the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) is currently undertaking we are seeking to develop an overview of the magnitude of the legacy estate initially across ministerial departments. CDDO has established a programme to support the Government remediating its legacy technology, resulting in a new risk-based framework designed to assess legacy IT assets within government departments. Through this legacy framework CDDO has collated a list of the highest risk systems across ministerial departments and followed up on this to ensure that they all have appropriate funding and remediation plans in place. CDDO is building a community of practice across government for legacy remediation which will enable the capture of lessons learnt and best practice for dissemination and sharing cross-government to accelerate legacy remediation. This will enable CDDO to create an overview of the magnitude of the legacy estate initially across Ministerial Departments. The cost to the public purse of external contractors used to maintain legacy IT estate cross-government is not centrally held. The Government is unable to provide an estimate for the whole of government in relation to the years specified, as this is a devolved matter for individual departments and their Accounting Officers.

Cabinet Office: Procurement

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the contracts agreed by his Department with (a) Alma Economics on 27 September 2023, procurement reference CCZZ23A21, and (b) Russell Reynolds Associates Ltd on 13 October 2023, procurement reference CCZX23A03, if he will publish the Schedule 20 annexes specifying the services to be delivered under each of those contracts.

Alex Burghart: In response to the detail requested relating to procurement reference CCZZ23A21 and CCZX23A03, and under section 43 of the FOIA, this information will not be disclosed as it is deemed commercially sensitive at this time. We have taken this approach as disclosing such information may undermine businesses' trust in us as a commercial partner.

9 Downing Street: Media

Christine Jardine: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions has the media briefing room at 9 Downing Street been used for (a) media briefings and (b) press conferences since its completion in 2021.

Alex Burghart: The Downing Street Briefing Room is in regular use for media briefings twice a day on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and once a day on Fridays when Parliament is sitting, and once a week during parliamentary recess. There have been more than 30 televised press conferences held in it so far. It is also used for other events such as virtual calls with world leaders. It is also routinely used for internal Cabinet Office events.

Civil Servants: Political Impartiality

Julian Knight: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what training is provided to civil servants on political impartiality.

Alex Burghart: Political impartiality is a contractual obligation for civil servants as part of the Civil Service Code, which forms part of the terms and conditions of appointment.There is a range of specialist training available to all civil servants on the Civil Service Code. The induction training for civil servants also includes material on political impartiality.

District Heating: Whitehall

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2022 to Question 4522 on District Heating: Whitehall, how much was charged to Government Departments by the Government Property Agency for the provision of heating from the Whitehall boiler system in 2022-23.

Alex Burghart: A number of departmental buildings have transferred ownership to the Government Property Agency and the details of buildings served by the Whitehall Boiler System are provided in the table below. BuildingDepartmentMOD Main BuildingMinistry of DefenceGovernment Office Great George StreetGovernment Property Agency70 WhitehallGovernment Property Agency10 Downing StreetGovernment Property AgencyAdmiralty HouseGovernment Property AgencyKing Charles StreetGovernment Property AgencyOld Admiralty BuildingGovernment Property AgencyHorse GuardsMinistry of DefenceDover HouseGovernment Property Agency22-26 WhitehallGovernment Property Agency55 WhitehallGovernment Property AgencyGwydyr HouseGovernment Property Agency36 WhitehallGovernment Property Agency The total costs that were charged to Government Departments by the Government Property Agency for the provision of heating from the Whitehall Boiler System is as follows; (a) 2022 - 23: £4.8m These costs include standing charges for the operation and maintenance of the Whitehall Boiler System along with the cost of actual heat consumed by each building. Meeting the Greening Government agenda objectives has been a key consideration for the Government Property Agency as the Whitehall Boiler System undertakes a decarbonisation project to support reaching Net Zero. This has involved works to insulate pipework and decommissioning assets that do not support the future operating system. Future phases include works to allow the operating temperature to be lowered to further reduce carbon emissions. The Whitehall Boiler System energy centre is considering options to achieve Net Zero through a federated approach which may include connecting to district heating networks for an external low carbon heat source. This option can be implemented when the system is operating at a medium temperature. The best source of external low carbon heat for the Whitehall Campus is likely to be achieved by connection to an external low carbon heat source similar to that as proposed under ‘South Westminster Area Network’ (Project SWAN) or a variant on this project. Currently the project is at development stage and it is proposed that, subject to the required budget being available, works will commence in 2026.

Cabinet Office: Catering

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on outside catering services for events across the Downing Street and 70 Whitehall estate in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2021-22, (c) 2022-23 and (d) from 1 April to 19 September 2023.

Alex Burghart: The information is not centrally held in the form requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Department for Business and Trade

Fireworks: Animal Welfare

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of implementing the recommendations on the sale of fireworks in the (a) Policy Statement BVA position on the use and sale of fireworks, published by the British Veterinary Association in October 2019, and (b) RSPCA campaign entitled Change firework laws to protect animals on the welfare of animals.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government believes the legislative framework controlling fireworks strikes the right balance and has no plans to replace it at this current time.The majority of individuals who use fireworks do so in a responsible and safe manner and there are enforcement mechanisms in place to tackle situations when fireworks are misused.A number of animal welfare organisations provide advice and guidance to enable people to minimise the impacts of fireworks on animal welfare. We are working with these organisations to amplify this messaging during key dates when fireworks are commonly used.

Department for Business and Trade: Plastics

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much her Department has spent on plastic (a) pens (b) cups and (c) bags for promotion and marketing in each of the last five years.

Nigel Huddleston: The information requested is not readily available. Attempting to find and extract the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.Building on the success of our existing restrictions on certain single use plastic items and the single use carrier bag charge, the Government will restrict the supply of single use plastic plates, bowls, trays, and ban all single use plastic cutlery, balloon sticks and expanded and extruded polystyrene food and drinks containers from October this year.

Furniture: Fire Regulations

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for what reason smoke toxicity was not included in the scope of the draft Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what evidence her Department has on the impact on health of toxic smoke inhalation generated by chemical flame retardants.

Kevin Hollinrake: In developing the draft proposals for the new approach to the fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture, the Government considered a wide range of evidence, including evidence submitted during the Environmental Audit Committee’s inquiry into Toxic Chemicals in Everyday Life. The proposals reflect the need to maintain and improve fire safety whilst reducing the risks posed by chemical flame retardants.The Government is currently consulting on these proposals and welcomes feedback from stakeholders.

Business: Regulation

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many civil servants are working on the package of regulatory reforms announced by her Department on 10 May 2023.

Kevin Hollinrake: The total number of civil servants working in the Department for Business and Trade on the package of regulatory reforms announced on 10 May is 69. The Department does not hold central information on the number of civil servants working on regulatory reform across Whitehall.

Trade Agreements: USA

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has held recent discussions with the (a) agriculture, (b) food standards, and (c) labour rights sectors on a potential trade deal with the US.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she plans to take to facilitate consultation with relevant stakeholders on any future trade partnership with the US; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Huddleston: The UK and U.S. are expanding the work we do together across the full spectrum of our economic, technological, commercial and trade relations through the Atlantic Declaration. Discussions with the U.S. on next steps under this first-of-its-kind agreement are ongoing. Ministers and officials regularly engage with a wide range of stakeholders including business groups, civil society and SMEs in both the UK and the U.S. on a range of trade matters. We will also continue to update Parliament as our work develops. The Department also hosts updates on the Government’s trade agenda. These sessions are open to all MPs.

Zero Hours Contracts: Greater London

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many people are on zero hour contracts in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.

Kevin Hollinrake: Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market. They are useful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For some, a zero hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them. Individuals on zero hours contracts represent a very small proportion of the workforce. The ONS estimates that 155,000 people aged 16 and over were employed on a zero hours contract in London in April – June 2023, representing 3.3% of people in employment in the area.

Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when her Department plans to bring forward regulations to implement the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023; and whether she plans to hold discussions with businesses that (a) supply and (b) use agency workers before doing so.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government is planning to bring the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 into force in Autumn 2024. We will hold discussions with businesses about the regulations, as part of our regular stakeholder engagement.

Minimum Wage

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many employers found to be in breach of minimum wage regulations were (a) named publicly and (b) not named publicly due to mitigating circumstances since the commencement of the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme.

Kevin Hollinrake: To date we have named around 2,700 employers since the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme began. Employers can make representations for not being named under this scheme, however, in practice we accept very few representations, as all employers have a duty to pay their staff correctly. We do not hold data on employers not named publicly due to exceptional circumstances.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Local Plans: Energy

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many local plans were rejected by the Planning Inspectorate for not meeting his Department's energy efficiency requirements since 2019.

Rachel Maclean: The information requested is not held centrally.

Parking: Private Sector

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will outline his planned timetable for the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 impact assessment, in the context of the closure of the private parking code of practice call for evidence on 8 October 2023.

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to publish consultation submissions to the private parking charges and debt recovery fees call for evidence.

Jacob Young: The Call for Evidence closed on 8 October and officials are now working through the submissions. The intention is to publish the Impact Assessment together with a consultation on options for handling parking charges and debt recovery fees, to make sure that the consultation is as well informed as it can be.The Government will publish a response to the Call for Evidence in due course.I thank him for his continued support on this issue and for his work in steering the legislation through the house. We will implement it in full at the earliest possible moment.

Buildings: Insurance

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has held recent discussions with the Association for British Insurers on the provision of insurance for buildings deemed at risk of fire.

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if she will hold discussions with the British Insurance Brokers' Association on the potential merits of producing industry guidance for meeting fair value rules to ensure that leaseholders benefit from such rules.

Lee Rowley: I have met both the British Insurance Brokers’ Association and the Association of British Insurers, along with companies providing services in these sectors, on multiple occasions during 2023 to highlight the concerns of leaseholders regarding excess insurance costs and the need to make progress in this important area.The Government is committed to making sure that buildings insurance costs are fair and transparent, and that leaseholders have confidence in challenging costs where necessary. Insurers must price risk in a responsible manner. It is clear from the Financial Conduct Authority reports into this market that leaseholders have not always been getting the service that they should, and this must change.Regarding broking fees, in April 2023 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consulted on giving leaseholders rights under their fair value rules and increasing requirements on the disclosure of information to leaseholders by brokers, and I strongly welcome its initiatives in this direction. The British Insurance Brokers' Association have already confirmed that they are in the process of testing new guidance for their members on how to comply with FCA fair value rules.The Association of British Insurers has been developing a scheme for buildings with fire safety risks experiencing particularly high premiums for a significant period of time. I continue to highlight the Government’s clear expectation that this be delivered as soon as possible.

Women and Equalities

UN Commission on the Status of Women

Dame Maria Miller: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2023 to Question 195825 on UN Commission on the Status of Women, what process was used to appoint the UK Youth Delegate to UN Commission on the Status of Women; how many applications were received for that position; and what the gender was of the successful applicant.

Maria Caulfield: The UK Youth Delegate to the UN Commission on the Status of Women was not appointed through a selection process. The delegate was male. This was a trial appointment and we are currently evaluating the success of this initiative.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Broadband: Leicestershire

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2023 to Question 165420 on Broadband: Leicestershire, what recent progress her Department has made on delivering fast and reliable broadband in (a) Bosworth constituency and (b) Leicestershire.

Sir John Whittingdale: We continue to make good progress in delivering fast, reliable broadband across the UK. Over 69% of premises in Bosworth can now access a gigabit-capable broadband connection. This is up from 67% in March 2023. Gigabit-capable coverage across Leicestershire has risen from 70% to over 72% in the same period. On 23 March 2023 Building Digital UK (BDUK) launched a procurement, as part of Project Gigabit, inviting broadband suppliers to bid for a contract to bring gigabit-capable broadband to premises in Leicestershire, including in Bosworth, that are currently not in broadband suppliers' commercial plans. Leicestershire County Council is also continuing to deliver a GigaHubs project, funded by BDUK, which is due to be completed in March 2024. This project includes the delivery of gigabit-capable broadband to 12 public sector sites in Bosworth that are not due to be covered commercially. To date, a connection has already been delivered to two of these sites; Barlestone CE Primary and Desford Library.

Databases: Water

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to promote the optimisation of water use in data centres to reduce their environmental impact.

Sir John Whittingdale: As set out in the National Data Strategy, better use of data has the potential to help solve climate change problems and move the UK towards meeting net zero targets. The Government regularly engages with data centre operators and other relevant data infrastructure providers to understand the steps they are taking to ensure sector resilience, optimise resources, and to reduce their environmental impact. The Government’s Plan for Water also sets out how businesses can play a role in reduced water consumption and increased water efficiency.

Broadband: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding has been allocated to the Project Gigabit scheme by (a) region and (b) per capita.

Sir John Whittingdale: Full details of Building Digital UK’s (BDUK) spend on Project Gigabit will be published in the first Annual Report and Accounts in November this year. Project Gigabit funding is not allocated per capita in each region, instead it is targeted at premises across the UK that need it most, specifically those outside of suppliers' commercial plans. BDUK’s annual report and accounts will include a breakdown of gigabit-capable connections subsidised in each local authority area. BDUK also regularly publishes updates on the progress of Project Gigabit, including the indicative value of local and regional procurements it has launched across the UK. Through our live procurements and the 12 signed Project Gigabit contracts to date, over £2 billion of funding has been made available to the market to extend gigabit-capable networks into hard-to-reach parts of the UK. Of the 12 signed contracts, over £590 million in funding has been committed across six regions, with more procurements to follow.  RegionValue of contracts in region (£million)Premises covered by contractNorth East£14.107,700North West£108.5059,000West Midlands£24.0012,000East of England£283.70186,100South East£118.0085,900South West£42.3025,700Total£590.60376,400

Animal Experiments

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department is taking steps to fund research into technologies that would provide an alternative to animal testing.

George Freeman: Government’s approach is to actively support and fund the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs), primarily through funding from UK Research and Innovation for the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) - who have committed £31.6 million for research and innovation into replacement technologies in the past 5 years - and to ensure that the UK has a robust regulatory system for licensing animal studies. The NC3Rs are on track to meet their commitment to invest 75% of their research and innovation budget on replacement technologies by the end of 2024.

Telephone Systems: Power Failures

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2023 to Question 198156 on Telephone Systems: Power Failures, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the minimum period landline providers should enable access to emergency organisations in the event of a power outage.

Sir John Whittingdale: Ofcom’s guidance was issued following a consultation with the general public as well as telecoms providers and Ofgem, looking at data on the average length of UK power outages. The guidance only sets out the minimum standards, and in practice many providers are offering solutions which exceed them. There is an ongoing industry working group where Communications Providers are jointly discussing how to improve their resilience to power outages, which includes discussions on backup solutions. The power resilience of our digital infrastructure networks is becoming increasingly important for keeping people connected in the event of a power outage. In recognition of this, the Secretary of State has asked Ofcom to review how all communications providers are meeting the needs of their customers. The government continues to work closely with Ofcom to understand what may be considered appropriate and proportionate.

Internet: Children

Ben Everitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she is taking steps to assess the effectiveness of (a) age verification tools, (b) age estimation tools and (c) other emerging technologies; and if she will take steps to include provisions in the Online Safety Bill to require the use of parental controls to help protect children online.

Paul Scully: The Online Safety Bill concluded parliamentary passage on 19 September. The Bill introduces a duty on Ofcom to produce and publish a report on in scope providers’ use of age verification and age estimation technologies. This must be done within 18 months of the first date on which the duties relating to children’s safety and to regulated provider pornographic content are in force. This report must assess how effective the use of age verification and age estimation has been for the purpose of compliance with the duties set out in the Bill. The Online Safety Bill is technology neutral in its approach; however, in-scope services must be able to demonstrate how they are complying with the duties set out in the Bill. This includes ensuring and demonstrating that any emerging technologies they use are effective in fulfilling their duties. While the Bill does not mandate the use of parental controls, Ofcom will set out the steps that providers can take to comply with the child safety duties in codes of practice.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Social Rented Housing: Insulation

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Social housing tenants helped to cut energy bills with £80 million for home upgrades, how many social homes will be insulated under that funding scheme.

Graham Stuart: The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) will upgrade a significant amount of the social housing stock currently below Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C in England up to that standard.The SHDF Wave 2.2 ‘top up’ competition will allocate up to £80 million of grant funding from April 2024, building on the allocations made under the previous Wave 2.1.SHDF Wave 2.1 awarded £778 million in March 2023 to deliver energy performance improvements to around 90,000 social homes, and the Wave 2.2 competition funding aims to upgrade around 9,500 additional homes.

Solar Power

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department have taken to increase solar capacity to 70GW by 2035.

Graham Stuart: The Government incentivises large-scale solar through the Contracts for Difference scheme. Last month, the Government awarded contracts to 56 solar projects, totalling 1.9 gigawatts of capacity, in the fifth, and first annual, allocation round Rooftop solar is encouraged through various financial and regulatory measures. These include the Smart Export Guarantee, removal of VAT on domestic panels, tax relief, and business rate exemptions. The Government is reviewing permitted development rights to simplify planning for commercial solar projects.   The Government has established the Solar Taskforce to drive forward actions needed to achieve the Government's ambition of more than quadrupling solar capacity by 2035.

Social Rented Housing: Insulation

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much and what proportion of insulation costs per home will be funded by the additional £80 million under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund; and whether (a) social housing tenants and (b) local councils will be required to contribute towards the cost of those insulation upgrades.

Graham Stuart: Policy for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) is designed following engagement with the sector. Draft guidance for Wave 2.2 of the SHDF outlines that social housing landlords are required to provide match funding of at least £1 for each £1 of grant funding received, to maximise the number of properties that can be retrofitted with the funding available. Social housing tenants will not be required to contribute to the cost of SHDF retrofits.

Energy: Disability

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions her Department has had with energy providers on the provision of (a) financial and (b) welfare support to households which include a disabled person.

Amanda Solloway: I have had regular meetings with energy suppliers, charities – including disability charities - and other external organisations in recent months on a range of consumer and affordability issues, including the energy needs of households that include a disabled person.

Energy: Disability

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions her Department has had with energy (a) providers and (b) suppliers on supporting households that include a disabled person.

Amanda Solloway: I have had regular meetings with energy suppliers, charities – including disability charities - and other external organisations in recent months on a range of consumer and affordability issues, including the energy needs of households that include a disabled person.

National Grid

Sir Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her planned timetable is for the National Grid Electricity System Operator becoming the Future Systems Operator; whether the Future Systems Operator will be required to follow procedures as set out in the Treasury's Green Book when making recommendations to National Grid Electricity Transmission on investment in electricity transmission infrastructure; and if she will require the Future Systems Operator to take account of the potential impact of any new infrastructure on the (a) environment and (b) value of nearby property.

Andrew Bowie: Our aim is for the FSO to be operational in 2024, depending on the Energy Bill and agreeing timelines with key parties. The FSO will take a strategic whole system approach to network planning, delivered initially by a Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP) for electricity transmission. Ofgem are currently consulting on the CSNP and expect to publish a decision later this year. It is expected the FSO will lead the development of CSNP methodology (approved by Ofgem), and this should consider deliverability, cost, environmental and community impacts, as well as how to utilise the Green Book guidance issued by HM Treasury.

Energy: Disability

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to provide financial support to help disabled people with their energy bills during winter 2023-24.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the cost of energy on disabled people this winter.

Amanda Solloway: The Government recognises the cost-of-living challenges many disabled people are facing. Last winter, the Government launched a package of support for households and businesses, spending £40 billion and paying around half a typical household’s energy bill last winter. Since last winter, the Q4 2023 price cap of £1,834 has more than halved compared to the Q1 2023 price cap which stood at a high of £4,279. This is good news for households who have seen their energy bills come down. The Energy Price Guarantee will remain in place as a safety net until the end of March 2024, should energy prices increase significantly during this period. Additionally, the Government is providing further cost of living support to vulnerable households, including a £900 payment for those on means-tested benefits and an extra £150 for people on an eligible disability benefit.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Women

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many and what proportion of civil servants on temporary contracts in her Department are women.

Graham Stuart: The number of women in the department for Energy Security and Net Zero (core department only) on temporary contracts* is currently 15. The percentage of women on temporary contracts of all temporary contracts (male and female) is 57.7%. The percentage of women on temporary contracts as a share of all women in the department is 0.7%. *Temporary contracts are defined as being on the payroll and holding a ‘fixed term contract’ that is 12 months or less in duration.

Carbon Emissions: Public Consultation

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when she plans to publish a plan to increase public engagement on the Government’s net zero policies.

Graham Stuart: As published in Net Zero Growth Plan, the Government will set out further detail on how it will increase public engagement on net zero. This will include setting out how Government will (i) support public awareness of its actions through digital platforms, (ii) develop a roadmap setting out plans and proposals under net zero and (iii) construct a guiding framework, in conjunction with partners and trusted messengers, to amplify net zero messaging. The Government will publish the roadmap and framework in the coming months.

Death: Weather

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent deaths attributable to living in cold homes.

Amanda Solloway: The Government expect over 3 million households to benefit this winter from the Warm Home Discount, which provides low-income and vulnerable households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate off their winter energy bill. The Government considers energy efficiency improvements to be the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions in line with net zero. Measures are available through several schemes including the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, Home Upgrade Grant, Great British Insulation Scheme and the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4). ECO4 runs from 2022-2026 at a value of £4billion.

Warm Home Discount Scheme: Eligibility

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she plans to amend the eligibility criteria for the Warm Home Discount Scheme to allow people without an Energy Performance Certificate for their home to be eligible for the scheme.

Amanda Solloway: Households without an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) can be eligible under the scheme. The Government reformed the scheme in England and Wales in 2022 to focus the support for low-income households living in properties with the highest heating costs, based on characteristics of the property. This data primarily comes from the Valuation Office Agency, which has complete data for almost all domestic properties. If a household believes the information held on their property is inaccurate, they can ask that alternative information, in the form of an EPC, be used instead. In the very small minority of cases where there is incomplete data for a property, an EPC can be used to confirm eligibility, based on whether the property meets the high-cost-to-heat criteria.

Renewable Energy: Storage

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to accelerate the use of (a) battery storage and (b) other energy storage installations to store renewable energy on the grid when it cannot accept it due to capacity constraints.

Graham Stuart: The Government is facilitating the deployment of electricity storage, including battery storage, through actions set out in the 2021 Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan. On longer duration electricity storage, the Government has committed to developing an appropriate policy framework by 2024 to enable investment and deploy sufficient storage to balance the system. The Department is planning to consult on the framework this year. On hydrogen storage, the Government has set out its preferred hydrogen storage business model to unlock private sector investment and remove barriers. The Government has secured amendments to the Energy Bill to introduce the primary powers to deliver this business model by 2025.

Carbon Budgets

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Prime Minister’s speech on Net Zero on 20 September 2023, what her Department’s planned timescale is for updating the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan to (a) reflect the Government’s policies and (b) demonstrate how the UK’s carbon budgets can be delivered; and if she will publish that plan on the Gov.uk website.

Graham Stuart: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State keeps under review the UK's progress towards net zero and its interim carbon budgets and will take further action, if needed, to ensure that there are sufficient proposals and policies in place to meet her legal duties. Over the past two years, the Government has published two detailed plans. Each year, the Government publishes updated forecasts of future emission projections across all sectors of the economy for policies that are already implemented or significantly developed.

Energy: Meters

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of smart meter connectivity in apartment blocks with solid concrete floors.

Amanda Solloway: Energy suppliers have a range of technologies to extend smart metering Home Area Network (HAN) connectivity where there are obstacles such as solid concrete floors between the apartment and the meter. Suppliers are already rolling out 'dual band' communications hubs which can operate on two different frequencies and therefore serve many previously hard to reach properties. For the minority of properties that cannot be served by the 'dual band' communications hub, deployment of an ‘Alternative Home Area Network’ (ALT HAN) solution began earlier this year, which provides smart meter connectivity for additional properties, such as the higher floors of high-rise buildings.

Carbon Emissions: Local Government

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much from the public purse the Government has provided to local authorities to support Net Zero initiatives in each of the last three years.

Graham Stuart: It is not possible to provide this information because it depends on the decisions local authorities make about using the funding available to them, such as their core local authority settlement. In addition to their core funding, local authorities can also use other funding to support net zero, such as UK growth funding and grant funds for specific programmes. Furthermore, DESNZ funds the Local Net Zero Hubs Programme which supports local authorities to develop net zero projects and attract commercial investment. The Government has also established the UK Infrastructure Bank with an initial £12 billion of capital for the twin goals of tackling climate change and levelling up. This includes a loan facility for local government.

Power Stations: Timber

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she will make it her Department's policy to end renewable subsidies for tree burning in power stations.

Graham Stuart: The Government has no plans to remove support for biomass generating stations that are already supported under the Renewables Obligation (RO) and the Contract for Difference (CfD) schemes. Such generators undertook their investments in establishing their stations under these schemes and have a statutory right to their existing support.

Carbon Budgets

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Climate Change Committee was asked to comment on the risk tables created to support the delivery of the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan.

Graham Stuart: The Climate Change Committee was not asked to comment on the risk tables.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Dame Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which offshore windfarms in the Contracts for Difference scheme have been granted a postponement of the sale of their offshore transmission owner assets; and how long each such postponement is.

Graham Stuart: The Government has granted time-limited exemptions for offshore wind farms in the Contracts for Difference scheme to sell their transmission assets. The exemptions were decided on a case-by-case basis and were subject to public consultation. They are as follows: - Walney Extension was granted a nine-month exemption to June 2020;- Hornsea 1 was granted a six-month exemption to July 2021;- Beatrice was granted a 12-month exemption to October 2021;- East Anglia One was granted two exemptions of three and 10 months to April 2023;- Triton Knoll was granted a 9-month exemption to July 2023; and- Moray East was granted a 6-month exemption to March 2024.

Energy: Birmingham Edgbaston

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to support community energy schemes in Birmingham Edgbaston constituency.

Graham Stuart: The Government recognises the role community groups play in efforts to minimise climate change and already offers a range of support to community energy projects. This support is outlined in the Net Zero Strategy and Net Zero Growth plan and is in addition to the new £10m Community Energy Fund, which enables both rural and urban communities across England to access grant funding to develop local renewable energy projects for investment. The Government has also recently committed to publishing an annual report on community energy and to consult on the barriers the sector faces when developing projects.

Sizewell C Power Station: Government Shareholding

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2023 to Question 199094 on Sizewell C Power Station: Construction, what the expected value of the Government’s shareholding in Sizewell C is in the 2023-24 financial year.

Andrew Bowie: The Government became an equal-shareholder in the Sizewell C project with EDF in November 2022, following an historic investment of c.£700m. This Summer the Government has invested a further £511m in the project. The value of the Government’s shareholding in the financial year 2023-24 is subject to the outcome of the equity raise process started on September 11th 2023, as well as to the project’s wider development. Both of these processes are ongoing and commercially sensitive.

Committee on Climate Change: Finance

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has provided any funding to the Climate Change Committee since 2008.

Graham Stuart: The Climate Change Committee – previously the Committee on Climate Change – has received funding from the Department and its predecessors.

Wind Power: Celtic Sea

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps the Government is taking to maximise the opportunity of floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea.

Graham Stuart: The Government fully supports the Crown Estate's Leasing Round 5, which will make available seabed areas capable of supporting up to 4.5 gigawatts of floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea. The Crown Estate will set out next steps on the Round later this year. The Department is currently assessing applications for the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme, worth up to £160 million, which will support investment in port infrastructure to deliver the Government's floating offshore wind ambitions. The UK and Welsh Governments have also jointly announced two freeports in Wales, each backed by UK Government funding of £26 million.

Energy: Community Development

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of providing additional support for community energy projects.

Graham Stuart: The Government recognises the role community groups play in efforts to minimise climate change and already offers a range of support to community energy projects. This support is outlined in the Net Zero Strategy and Net Zero Growth plan and is in addition to the new £10m Community Energy Fund, which enables both rural and urban communities across England to access grant funding to develop local renewable energy projects for investment. The Government has also recently committed to publishing an annual report on community energy and to consult on the barriers the sector faces when developing projects.

Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent steps have been taken in relation to the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme.

Graham Stuart: The application window for the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme closed on 27 August. Applications have been received and are currently being assessed. The Department expects the initial assessment of applications to conclude towards the end of the year and will notify projects at that point if they have been placed on either the primary or reserve list. The Department will also notify unsuccessful applicants at that time.

Small businesses: Portsmouth South

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to help increase uptake of local authority net zero schemes by small businesses in Portsmouth South constituency.

Graham Stuart: The Government recognises that many small businesses across the UK are keen to tackle climate change but find it difficult to know how to start. The first step these businesses can take is to visit the UK Business Climate Hub. The Government has recently relaunched the content on the site, providing more up-to-date, practical and tailored advice on how to reduce emissions as well as signposting to additional resources. More widely, Government support for local authorities in delivering net zero is outlined in the Net Zero Strategy and Net Zero Growth plan.

Carbon Emissions

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Prime Minister's 20 September 2023 net zero speech on the readiness of businesses to decarbonise in line with the government's net zero targets.

Graham Stuart: My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State, ministers, and officials engage extensively with business leaders. The Government uses a variety of forums, including the Net Zero Council, to ensure businesses have the guidance and support they need to decarbonise.

Fuel Poverty

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to tackle fuel poverty.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to tackle fuel poverty in Battersea constituency.

Amanda Solloway: The Sustainable Warmth Strategy details its approach to tackling fuel poverty in England. The Government is currently reviewing this strategy. The Government considers energy efficiency improvements to be the best way to tackle fuel poverty long term. Energy efficiency measures are available through schemes including the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, Home Upgrade Grant, Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) and the Great British Insulation Scheme. ECO4 runs from 2022-2026 at a value of £4billion.   The Government expect the Warm Home Discount scheme to provide over 3 million low-income and vulnerable households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate off their energy bill this winter.

Energy Company Obligation: Battersea

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking with energy companies to support the installation of energy efficiency measures through ECO4 in Battersea constituency.

Graham Stuart: The Government sets the overall target and rules for the delivery of the Energy Company Obligation but does not direct where measures are installed; that is left to the obligated energy suppliers and their installers.

Private Rented Housing: Energy Performance Certificates

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that private rented homes meet the minimum standard of EPC C rating.

Graham Stuart: My Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister announced on 20 September that landlords will not be required to improve the energy efficiency of their property beyond existing legal requirements (EPC Band E). The Government is spending £6bn this Parliament and a further £6bn to 2028 on making buildings cleaner and warmer, in addition to £5bn to be delivered through the Energy Company Obligation and the Great British Insulation Scheme up to March 2026. Last year, the Government introduced a zero-rate of VAT for five years on energy saving measures and low-carbon heating, making it cheaper for people to invest in their properties and reduce energy usage.

Energy: Social Tariffs

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2023 to Question 181721 on Energy: Prices, when her Department plans to publish a consultation on a social tariff for energy.

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2023 to Question 181721 on Energy: Prices, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of a social tariff for energy.

Amanda Solloway: As set out in the 2022 Autumn Statement, the Government is exploring the best approach to consumer protection, as part of wider retail market reforms. The Government continues to monitor the situation and will keep options under review.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Transcaucasus: Roads

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to convene international partners to help support work on finding a resolution to the situation in the Lachin corridor.

Leo Docherty: Following Azerbaijan's military action in Nagorno-Karabakh in September, the UK was active in working with international partners to call upon Azerbaijan to end the use of force and to avoid further conflict. We welcome UN and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access following the conflict, and we are providing £1 million to the ICRC to provide life-saving medication, healthcare and other essential support to those affected. We are continuing to liaise with the UN, ICRC and others to assess humanitarian need in the region and what further UK assistance is required.